Moon Exploration and Science News

December 14, 2012

NASA Gravity Probes Prepare to Hit the Moon
Huntsville AL (SPX) Dec 14, 2012
A pair of NASA spacecraft that have been studying the Moon's gravitational field are being prepared for a controlled descent into a mountain near the Moon's north pole. Impact is expected at about 2:28 p.m. PST (5:28 p.m. EST) on Monday, Dec. 17. "It is going to be difficult to say goodbye to our little robotic twins," says MIT professor Maria Zuber, principal investigator of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. "Planetary science has advanced in a major way because of the ... read more

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Cassini Spots Mini Nile River on Saturn Moon Scientists with NASA's Cassini mission have spotted what appears to be a miniature, extraterrestrial likeness of Earth's Nile River: a river valley on Saturn's moon Titan that stretches more than 20 ... more		Apollo's Lunar Dust Data Being Restored Forty years after the last Apollo spacecraft launched, the science from those missions continues to shape our view of the moon. In one of the latest developments, readings from the Apollo 14 and 15 ... more		To the moon and back for less than 2 billion dollars Two former top NASA officials unveiled plans Thursday to sell manned flights to the moon by the end of the decade, in an announcement 40 years after the last human set foot there. ... more
				What trends will take upper hand in space exploration? Space exploration in the future is linked to the creation of habitable bases on the moon. This opinion was expressed by head of Russia's leading research institute of the country's space agency Genn ... more		NASA's GRAIL Creates Most Accurate Moon Gravity Map Twin NASA probes orbiting Earth's moon have generated the highest resolution gravity field map of any celestial body. The new map, created by the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mis ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Chinese astronauts may grow veg on Moon Chinese astronauts may get fresh vegetables and oxygen supplies by gardening in extraterrestrial bases in the future, an official said after a just-concluded lab experiment in Beijing. Deng Yi ... more		NASA's Cassini Sees Abrupt Turn in Titan's Atmosphere Data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft tie a shift in seasonal sunlight to a wholesale reversal, at unexpected altitudes, in the circulation of the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan. At the south pole, ... more		With Trump mum, last US-Russia nuclear pact set to end India budget pledges record infrastructure and defence boost Lockheed ramps up THAAD interceptor output with new framework deal and Camden facility		WSU researchers use 3-D printer to make parts from moon rock Imagine landing on the moon or Mars, putting rocks through a 3-D printer and making something useful - like a needed wrench or replacement part. "It sounds like science fiction, but now it's really ... more
				Cassini Finds a Video Gamers' Paradise at Saturn You could call this "Pac-Man, the Sequel." Scientists with NASA's Cassini mission have spotted a second feature shaped like the 1980s video game icon in the Saturn system, this time on the moon Teth ... more		Fly me to the universe In the eye of Ouyang Ziyuan, Chinese will not only explore the moon and Mars, but the sun, Venus and Jupiter, as well. "I wish we could travel further away," said Ouyang, chief scientist of Ch ... more

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Meteorite samples provide definitive evidence of water and rock types on Mars Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, NASA's Johnson Space Center, Lunar Planetary Institute, and Carnegie Institute of Washington report on geochemical studies that help towards settlin ... more		China's Chang'e-3 to land on moon next year China will launch its latest lunar satellite in the second half of next year, the Chang'e-3, paving the way for a future manned moon landing, a senior space industry official said on Saturday. ... more		Sentinel 1 maps reveal flexible crust beneath Tibetan Plateau Stable water tables help wetlands curb methane emissions Rock microbes reveal hidden groundwater carbon engine		Obama Win Keeps NASA's Space Plans on Course The reelection of US president Barack Obama could mean one small step back to the moon and a giant leap to landing astronauts on Mars and asteroids. In 2010, the Obama administration set a goa ... more
				A New Technique to Protect Astronauts from Space Radiation The complexities of traveling to and working in space present challenges to astronauts that NASA scientists and engineers have been working on since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first stepped on t ... more		Moon crater yields impact clues NASA scientists say an almost perfectly preserved crater on the moon should yield clues to the evolution of impact craters on Earth and other rocky bodies. ... more

Opportunity Checking Out Some Rocks At Matijevic Hill

Charitum Montes: a cratered winter wonderland

Opportunity Continues Rock Studies

Cassini Spots Mini Nile River on Saturn Moon

Titan, Saturn's Largest Moon, Icier than Scientists Thought

NASA's Cassini Sees Abrupt Turn in Titan's Atmosphere

Halfway Between Uranus and Neptune, New Horizons Cruises On

Dwarf planet Makemake lacks atmosphere

Keck Observations Bring Weather Of Uranus Into Sharp Focus

NASA Gravity Probes Prepare to Hit the Moon

Apollo's Lunar Dust Data Being Restored

To the moon and back for less than 2 billion dollars

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Physicists predict significant growth for cadmium telluride photovoltaics

Astrium presents results of its study into automatic landing near the Moon's south pole		Monitoring Io's Insane Volcanic Activity from the Comfort of Earth		European mission to search for moon water		Proof at last: Moon was created in giant smashup		Massive planetary collision may have zapped key elements from moon
Giant impact scenario may explain the unusual moons of Saturn		Model reconciles Lunar Earth composition with giant impact theory		Giant smashup created the Moon, say scientists		What's Baking on Titan?		University of Tennessee study confirms solar wind as source for moon water

UNH scientists provide window on space radiation hazards

Solar wind particles likely source of water locked inside lunar soils

Moon water could have solar source: study

Russia to launch lunar mission in 2015

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