June 28th, 2024
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China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission to the Moon’s far side netted over 4.3 pounds (1,935.3 grams) of samples. A ceremony was held on Friday by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to hand over the samples to the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) for storage, analysis and research. […]
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A container carrying China’s far side lunar samples has been extracted from the returner capsule of the Chang’e-6 lunar probe mission during a June 26 ceremony at the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing. The Chang’e-6 probe returner touched down in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Tuesday, completing its 53-day Earth-to-Moon and […]
China lunar scientists have begun their inspection of the country’s Chang’e-6 returner capsule and its cache of far side lunar samples. Parachuting into the Siziwang Banner of north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region shortly after 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the capsule’s touchdown concluded a 53-day journey from Earth, to the Moon, and back to […]
China’s just landed specimens from the far side of the moon signals not only technological achievement and plows new territory for the country’s space exploration capacity, it is also sparking a chain-reaction in scientific, policy, and diplomatic circles within the U.S. Wrapping up a 53-day undertaking from Earth departure on May 3 to back on […]
China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission has ended, successfully bringing to Earth its celestial bounty – the world’s first sample from the Moon’s far side — after a 53-day journey in space. The Chang’e-6 probe was launched on May 3 with the return capsule of onboard lunar specimens parachuting into Siziwang Banner, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous […]
China’s Chang’e-6 mission is coming to full stop within a planned landing area at Siziwang Banner in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The multi-tasking Earth-to-Moon and return mission is hauling a stash of lunar samples collected in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin. 53-day journey Chang’e-6 is a spacecraft comprising an orbiter, a lander, an […]
In 1974, Princeton University professor and space visionary, the late Gerard O’Neill, proposed use of an electromagnetic rail gun to lob payloads from the moon. “Mass drivers” based on a coil gun design were adapted to accelerate a non-magnetic object. One application for mass drivers was tossing into space lunar-derived materials for building space colonies, […]
Heart failure in space is the focus of new research that could influence the future of space tourists on their microgravity journeys. This work involves a mathematical model of the heart and lung system to simulate how microgravity could affect an individual, particularly those not well-groomed for the experience. Non-professional astronauts The research paper […]
It was a one-of-a-kind memorable moment for a throng of well-wishers including this reporter, all in nose-up, sky squinting position at California’s Mojave Airport back on June 21, 2004. Let loose from its White Knight mothership, the rocket engine propelling SpaceShipOne roared to life, skillfully controlled by test pilot Mike Melvill. That pioneering flight lasted […]
Planting a telescope on Phobos – one of the two moons circling Mars – is seen as providing significant support for eventual human exploration of the Red Planet. A powerful space telescope situated on Phobos offer unique advantages for observing Mars and other solar system objects. Such a spot-landed facility – roughly a 10-meter-class telescope […]
