June 15th, 2024
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End-of-life, human-made space scraps that fall into Earth’s atmosphere are leaving behind a train of tiny particles that are eating away at our fragile biosphere. The new work has been published in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters pointing to the increasing number of satellite constellations, the byproducts of which on re-entry catalyze chemical reactions […]
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China’s projected human exploration of the Moon received a boost last week given a first-time propulsion system test for the country’s powerful Long March-10 rocket. According to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the propulsion system for the first stage of the Long March-10 launch vehicle underwent testing for the first time on […]
A hot topic for moon researchers is whether or not water ice is an available, ripe for the picking resource at the lunar south pole. The search for exploitable water ice is high on NASA’s Artemis agenda to blueprint a “sustainable” human presence pathway on the Moon, with water ice being the elixir […]
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) now circling the Moon has taken its first look at China’s far side Chang’e-6 landing spot. The lander is flanked by two craters similar in size to it, and is on the edge of a much more subtle crater about 50 meters wide, reports Mark Robinson, the principal investigator […]
Book Review: After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon by Greg Eghigian; Oxford University Press, 2024; Hardcover, 400 pages; $29.99. In this highly embraced volume the author explores how individuals, scientists, governments and the media responded to reports of UFO sightings and alien abductions, and what those responses say about […]
That mysterious tiny rover let loose by China’s Chang’e-6 Moon lander has finally been spotlighted. The state-run Xinhua news agency said the roughly 5 kilograms device is an autonomous, intelligent mini-robot, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Weighing roughly 11 pounds (5 kilograms), the sporty mini-snooper is far lighter than China’s […]
China has announced selection of new astronaut candidates to ready the country for its future human treks to the Moon. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced Tuesday that 10 candidates, including eight space pilots and two payload specialists, have been selected as the country’s fourth batch of astronauts. Geology field work Huang Weifen, chief […]
About that five-star red flag now in position on the far side of the Moon – it’s made of basalt, a type of volcanic rock that’s plentiful on the lunar surface. On June 2, China’s Chang’e-6 far side robotic lander touched down in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the Moon. Post-landing, […]
Excitement is mounting for the return of lunar samples from the far side of the Moon. China’s on-going Chang’e-6 mission is nearing departure from lunar orbit, making a bee-line for the Earth and delivering a motherlode of Moon materials. Late last week, more than 200 Chinese scientists from 31 domestic universities and research institutes gathered […]
Yet another chunk of SpaceX junk from space has apparently been found in a resident’s yard in North Carolina. As reported by the WLOS television station, this latest incident adds to objects of various sizes and weights being tied to surviving fragments of the jettisoned “trunk” associated with the SpaceX Dragon Crew-7 mission. Katrinka Barnett […]
