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Home / News / Tags / Moon
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Last month, a NASA spacecraft and its accompanying spent rocket stage slammed into the surface of the Moon's south pole, in the Cabeus crater. A few weeks later, as everyone was teeming with anticipation, the much-awaited announcement finally came – water existed on the Earth's satellite. Spectrograph... |
20 November 2009
05:27 GMT |
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On October 9, NASA slammed its $79-million LCROSS space probe into the surface of the Moon, in a quest for discovering water-ice in the Cabeus Crater at the south pole. At the time, as the world watched this endeavor live, the impact crater and the ejection plume that the spent Centaurus rocket stage created as it im... |
14 November 2009
03:14 GMT |
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In October, NASA deliberately crashed its Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) experiment on the south pole of the Moon, creating two impact craters. One of them was caused by the spent Centaurus rocket stage that the LCROSS instrument was carrying, while the second was made by the $79 million spacec... |
7 November 2009
04:47 GMT |
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The 2009 Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X Prize Challenge (LLC) has finally come to an end last week, as the final two teams tried their best to complete the first and second stages of the match-up. Already in the cards was Rockwall, Texas-based Armadillo Aerospace, a company that managed to complete both stages of th... |
3 November 2009
11:02 GMT |
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Having recently maneuvered into its 50-kilometer mapping orbit around the Moon, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is now able to snap amazing, high-detail photos of features that have only been hinted at by other orbiters around the satellites until now. The switch from one orbit to the other took place ... |
29 October 2009
11:10 GMT |
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The Earth's natural satellite is one of the most pristine places in the Universe to study, in spite of being dotted with all types of wrecks belonging to various lunar missions. Its atmosphere is especially suited for measurements, as it always remains completely still, other than the rare instances in which an ... |
27 October 2009
05:32 GMT |
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Scientists from two teams have until this Saturday, October 31, to prevent the top prize of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, valued at $1 million, to go to Rockwall, Texas-based Armadillo Aerospace. Throughout this week, the two groups will compete back-to-back, in order to demonstrate that their vehicles... |
26 October 2009
11:38 GMT |
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Between 2007 and 2011, eight missions were flown, or will be flown to the Moon, in a genuine flurry of exploration. Undoubtedly, it won't be too long until we will send astronauts there again, and lay the foundation of permanent lunar bases, at first only for research, but later on for habitation as well. But, t... |
17 October 2009
05:53 GMT |
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The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is currently taking on a new and difficult task, namely that of producing a lunar lander that is able to, well, land in a place where there is no air. Wings don't do too much good, and propellers are also useless. The only things that could help such a craft safely touch dow... |
16 October 2009
05:45 GMT |
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The defunct Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter, the Indian space probe that slammed into the Moon earlier this year because of a glitch, is still useful even from beyond the “grave.” The analysis of the data relayed back by the ESA-ISRO instrument SARA aboard the spacecraft has helped experts at the European Spa... |
15 October 2009
10:33 GMT |
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Yesterday, October 9, the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) collapsed into the Cabeus crater at the lunar south pole, just minutes after it dropped its spent Centaurus upper stage at the same location. Just before impacting the ground, the Science team at the Ames Research Center reported that i... |
10 October 2009
03:29 GMT |
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NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft recently photographed the impact crater left behind by the upper stage of the Saturn IVB delivery system that the space agency intentionally crashed on the lunar surface on February 4, 1971. The reason why the deorbiting took place was for scientists to get a ... |
9 October 2009
04:49 GMT |
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Tomorrow, at 7:31 am EDT (1131 GMT), skywatchers and professional astronomers will be able to see for the first time how a spacecraft plunges to its fiery demise, as it slams into the Cabeus crater, at the Moon's south pole. According to the American space agency, a spent Centaurus rocket stage, attached to the ... |
8 October 2009
21:01 GMT |
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This Friday, October 9, could very well represent one of the most historically significant dates in human history. It may be the time when we determine for sure that water-ice reserves exist at the lunar south pole, a find that would have considerable implications for space exploration and for our future among the st... |
7 October 2009
18:11 GMT |
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Columbia University astrophysicist Arlin Crotts has been involved in a number of theoretical studies over the years predicting the existence of water on the Moon, something that was only accurately confirmed less than a month ago. In one of his latest works, written together with graduate student Cameron Hummels, and... |
7 October 2009
02:16 GMT |
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Even before three independent spacecraft confirmed the existence of water-ice on the Moon, the American space agency, NASA, had plans of someday going to the lunar surface and establishing a permanent research base there. In order to make this a reality, a sustainable, durable, compact and light-weight power source w... |
6 October 2009
05:04 GMT |
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Dr. Vincent Eke, from the Durham University, in the United Kingdom, is one of the experts that helped inform of NASA's decision to change the location at which it would crash its Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission. The spacecraft is scheduled to drop its spent Centaurus rocket stage ... |
5 October 2009
06:07 GMT |
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Even before lunar probes concluded that water-ice had to exist on the surface of the Moon, engineers at NASA had been studying how to obtain water from the bare space rock. Now that investigations have shown that ice can, indeed, be found on at least several locations, those visions for human exploration have been pu... |
30 September 2009
09:56 GMT |
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The European Space Agency (ESA) launched its Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology (SMART-1) satellite in an orbit around the Moon on September 27, 2003. Over the next three years, the spacecraft conducted scientific observations of Earth's natural satellite. On September 3, 2006, it was deliberatel... |
26 September 2009
06:46 GMT |
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This week saw one of the most important announcements made in the past decade. Scientists were finally able to conclude that water ice existed on the Moon, and their theory is supported by scientific measurements conducted by three separate instruments. Additionally, the find could be again proven next month, when th... |
25 September 2009
01:52 GMT |
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Until not long ago, experts believed that the Moon was not the most likely place in the solar system where one would find liquid water. In fact, measurements of lunar soil samples, brought back by Apollo-mission astronauts, have shown that, on average, only about 32 ounces of water could exist in theory within a ton ... |
24 September 2009
02:24 GMT |
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When someone begins to wonder where the coldest place in our immediate surrounding is, the Moon is not the first place to come to mind. But measurements taken with the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE) instrument, aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), proved that, for now, the coldest place ... |
18 September 2009
06:43 GMT |
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In an announcement it made yesterday, the American space agency NASA said that its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) probe had made an amazing discovery on the Moon – the first signs of water on Earth's natural satellite. After having successfully completed its calibration and fine-tuning stages, the orbi... |
18 September 2009
02:15 GMT |
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In the Arizona desert, NASA recently showcased its latest lunar rover, a vehicle known as the Lunar Electric Rover (LER). Running entirely on electricity provided by batteries and fuel cells, the new instrument has a closed cockpit, which means that astronauts will no longer have to wear their bulky spacesuits, as th... |
17 September 2009
10:20 GMT |
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The Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission to the Moon launched on the same Atlas V rocket as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and it is currently circling the Earth's natural satellite, waiting to drop its payload to the surface. It carries with it an empty Centaur rocket stage, ... |
14 September 2009
03:47 GMT |
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The Indian space agency has announced that it terminated its Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon on Saturday, 14 months ahead of schedule. Launched last October, the orbiter had been revolving around Earth's natural satellite at an altitude of about 200 kilometers (124 miles), then it began to show signs of errors... |
31 August 2009
05:55 GMT |
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The Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) instrument recently gave its mission controllers quite a fright, when it had to perform some emergency maneuvers, in order to maintain its correct course. The unplanned movements took up almost half of the craft's remaining fuel, and mission controllers... |
26 August 2009
05:03 GMT |
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The Review of Human Space Flight Plans group, appointed by the Obama Administration to assess the American space agency's situation, ambitions, funding plans and future plans, is about to soon make its final recommendations to the President. In the meantime, its members have announced that no more public meeting... |
21 August 2009
02:47 GMT |
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Experts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) are currently investigating technologies that could allow for the construction of a fission reactor on the Moon in the future, to help power potential outposts that may be established. The new system is reportedl... |
17 August 2009
10:42 GMT |
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In a groundbreaking new find, experts at the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, have announced having managed to find a way to convert Moon rocks directly into oxygen, a find that could have significant implications on future expeditions to the Earth's natural satellite. For would-be colonists, ever... |
12 August 2009
04:49 GMT |
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Members of the Review of US Human Space Flight Plans Committee said recently that the United States could fulfill the objective of taking astronauts back to the Moon by 2020, but also mentioned that this couldn't be done with current funding. In addition, the same panel also reviewed NASA's decision to stop... |
31 July 2009
16:31 GMT |
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The main asteroid belt lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and includes some of the oldest rocky formations in our star system. According to a new paper released by experts at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), it may be that some of the oldest asteroids in there were not formed around the Sun, but in ... |
21 July 2009
20:01 GMT |
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Google is announcing the addition of the Moon to its Google Earth application. Many have been expecting the introduction for a while now and there have been some hints recently about the release. The announcement comes just in time to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the first lunar landing, with Google Moon laun... |
20 July 2009
11:43 GMT |
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Ever since the early stages of human life on Earth, people have wanted to know more about all the things near them. But the years have passed, and soon the Earth was not enough, so they began to push the limits and look for the skies, in search of other planets. This is how the space age began. Since then, some peopl... |
16 July 2009
12:11 GMT |
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The American space agency NASA has recently announced the creation of a new, false-color image of the lunar South Pole, in a bid to make it easier for the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission planners to select a spot where to slam their impactor. The new topographical map, among the most c... |
10 July 2009
14:01 GMT |
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While researching archive materials for the 40th celebration of the Moon landing, astronomers at the University of Manchester Jodrell Bank Center for Astrophysics came across some documents that really blew their minds – recordings of a Soviet attempt at landing and returning a craft on the Moon, at the same ti... |
8 July 2009
02:01 GMT |
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Freshly arrived on the Moon's orbit just at the end of last month, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is not wasting any time standing idly around, and has already started photographing the lunar surface. It is, at this point, fulfilling two tasks – looking for resources, or potential places wh... |
3 July 2009
05:38 GMT |
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The Japanese Kaguya spacecraft, launched in 2007, transmitted back readings that confirmed the presence of the rare chemical uranium on the surface of the Moon. For the first time, astronomers and astrophysicists have definitive proof that an energy source for a future lunar base is readily available on the Earth... |
30 June 2009
05:38 GMT |
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The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) probe, launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 18th, has only recently successfully entered the Moon's orbit. While the event marks the beginning of NASA's return to the natural satellite, which will culminate in 2020 with a proposed manne... |
25 June 2009
04:38 GMT |
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Following the successful orbital insertion of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) space probe on a trajectory around the Moon yesterday, NASA announced that the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) also successfully completed the most important part of its early flight stages. The satellites swu... |
24 June 2009
02:49 GMT |
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After a large number of delays, NASA's mission to the Moon, comprised of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Spacecraft (LCROSS), has finally made it to its destination. Following the June 18th launch, the Atlas V delivery system carried the two spacecraft safely t... |
23 June 2009
08:47 GMT |
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NASA has announced that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) have successfully launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida. The blast-off took place at 5:32 pm EDT (2132 GMT), aboard an Atlas V delivery system. The only thing that th... |
19 June 2009
01:55 GMT |
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Later tonight, a large Atlas V delivery system is poised to lift the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) probes in lower Earth orbit, and then further into the Moon's. The two unmanned spacecraft are the first robotic probes to be sent forth to the n... |
18 June 2009
10:20 GMT |
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The debate on whether the Moon actually holds water, be it frozen or liquid, has been raging on for several decades now, with strong arguments on both sides. Many have argued that the conditions simply do not allow for this, while others have said that ice caps such as those on Mars could exist on the natural satelli... |
15 June 2009
09:57 GMT |
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Other than offering a very spectacular view, lunar eclipses are also useful for astronomy, as was proven in 2008. At that time, a group of experts investigating the surface of the satellite saw that, despite the fact that the Earth was completely obscuring the sunlight coming towards the Moon, its surface still shone... |
12 June 2009
06:59 GMT |
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A massive project, to which already a number of former astronauts and other famous people have subscribed, is currently underway to bounce people's voices off the Moon, from one point of the globe to the other. According to the radio amateurs that made this initiative a reality, parabolic and radio dishes around... |
4 June 2009
14:01 GMT |
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Back in 1969, when the Apollo mission landed on the Moon, Neil Armstrong uttered his famous phrase “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” upon setting foot on the lunar soil for the first time. Now, a linguist shows that the astronaut also meant to place an “a” before the word &l... |
4 June 2009
10:01 GMT |
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Lately, there has been much fuss about the possibility of building a base on the Moon within the next couple of decades. The idea is naturally not new, with plans for such a facility dating back at least 40 years. But, recently, NASA has engaged actively in devising plans and designs for a future base, as well as pos... |
1 June 2009
03:26 GMT |
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With more than 17 teams already signed up in the competition, the Google Lunar X Prize promises to be one of the most interesting show-offs in history. All participants need to construct a delivery system that will get their rover to the Moon, where the robot has to drive for about 500 meters, take high-resolution pi... |
28 May 2009
05:07 GMT |
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The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) have been completed, NASA has recently announced, and the two new instruments have already been mated together. The observatories will launch together on the same Atlas V rocket on June 17th, from the Cape Canavera... |
22 May 2009
16:51 GMT |
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