Moon Exploration and Science News

April 09, 2013

The Space Cowboys are Back
Bethesda MD (SPX) Apr 09, 2013
You can't make this stuff up! The latest idea from NASA sounds like a "space western." In this case one cowboy, played by a robotic spacecraft, is sent to lasso a small asteroid and bring it back to a spot near the moon. Once parked by the moon other cowboys, played by astronauts, would explore the space rock. This sounds like a great subject for a film, but the plot seems a bit weak. Just last Friday, Senator Bill Nelson of Florida endorsed the plan and said it would speed up existing NASA plans ... read more

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More Treasures from Asteroids The recent announcement of a potential NASA plan to robotically capture an asteroid, transport it to lunar orbit and use it as a target for a human expedition is amazing. Admittedly, it sounds ... more		Russia rekindles Moon exploration program, intends setting up first human outposts there Having on hand an impressive record of successful moon missions performed when it was the Soviet Union, Russia has set to revive a robotic moon exploration program. The country's serious intentions ... more		Mapping the Chemistry Needed for Life at Europa A new paper led by a NASA researcher shows that hydrogen peroxide is abundant across much of the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. The authors argue that if the peroxide on the surface of Europa mix ... more
				Scientists to Io: Your Volcanoes Are in the Wrong Place Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active world in the Solar System, with hundreds of volcanoes, some erupting lava fountains up to 250 miles high. However, concentrations of volcanic activi ... more		NASA Team Investigates Complex Chemistry At Titan A laboratory experiment at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., simulating the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan suggests complex organic chemistry that could eventually lead to the b ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Pre-existing mineralogy may survive lunar impacts Despite the unimaginable energy produced during large impacts on the Moon, those impacts may not wipe the mineralogical slate clean, according to new research led by Brown University geoscientists. ... more		Lunar cycle determines hunting behaviour of nocturnal gulls Zooplankton, small fish and squid spend hardly any time at the surface when there's a full moon. To protect themselves from their natural enemies, they hide deeper down in the water on bright nights ... more		Trump says 'very dangerous' for UK to deal with China Denmark hails 'very constructive' meeting with US over Greenland Where does Iraq stand as US turns up heat on Iran?		Ultraviolet spectrograph observes mercury and hydrogen in GRAIL impact plumes When NASA's twin GRAIL spacecraft made their final descent for impact onto the Moon's surface last December, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's sophisticated payload was in position to observe the e ... more
				NASA Scientists Find Moon, Asteroids Share History NASA and international researchers have discovered that Earth's moon has more in common than previously thought with large asteroids roaming our solar system. Scientists from NASA's Lunar Scie ... more		LOFAR discovers new giant galaxy in all-sky survey A team of astronomers led by ASTRON astronomer Dr. George Heald has discovered a previously unknown gigantic radio galaxy, using initial images from a new, ongoing all-sky radio survey. The galaxy w ... more

Solar systems for home and business installations

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

ChemCam data abundant at Planetary Conference Members of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover ChemCam team will present more than two dozen posters and talks next week during the 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlan ... more		Los Alamos science sleuth on the trail of a Martian mystery When it comes to examining the surface of rocks on Mars with a high-powered laser, five is a magic number for Los Alamos National Laboratory postdoctoral researcher Nina Lanza. During a poster sessi ... more		Polar bears bulk up despite melting Norwegian Arctic: study US finalizes rule for deep-sea mining beyond its waters China executes 11 linked to Myanmar scam compounds		NASA's LRO Sees GRAIL's Explosive Farewell Many spacecraft just fade away, drifting silently through space after their mission is over, but not GRAIL. NASA's twin GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) spacecraft went out in a blaz ... more
				Goldstone Radar Snags Images of Asteroid 2013 ET A sequence of radar images of asteroid 2013 ET was obtained on March 10, 2013, by NASA scientists using the 230-foot (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif., when the asteroid was ... more		Curiosity Mars Rover Sees Trend in Water Presence NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has seen evidence of water-bearing minerals in rocks near where it had already found clay minerals inside a drilled rock. Last week, the rover's science team announ ... more

Registration Opens for NASA Night Rover Energy Challenge

Shaking ExoMars

Remaining Martian Atmosphere Still Dynamic

NASA Team Investigates Complex Chemistry At Titan

Saturn is Like an Antiques Shop, Cassini Suggests

'Hot Spots' Ride a Merry-Go-Round on Jupiter

'Vulcan' wins Pluto moon name vote

Public to vote on names for Pluto moons

The PI's Perspective: The Seven-Year Itch

Russia rekindles Moon exploration program, intends setting up first human outposts there

Pre-existing mineralogy may survive lunar impacts

Lunar cycle determines hunting behaviour of nocturnal gulls

	Leaping Lunar Dust Electrically charged lunar dust near shadowed craters can get lofted above the surface and jump over the shadowed region, bouncing back and forth between sunlit areas on opposite sides, according to ... more		Amazon's Bezos recovers Apollo 11 engines Amazon founder Jeff Bezos claimed success Wednesday in his mission to recover Apollo 11 moon mission engines that plunged into the ocean decades ago. ... more		First Laser Communication System Integrated, Ready for Launch A new NASA-developed, laser-based space communication system will enable higher rates of satellite communications similar in capability to high-speed fiber optic networks on Earth. The space t ... more		China sets moon mission re-entry test China says it will conduct re-entry tests before 2015 of a spacecraft to be used in a mission to have a lunar explorer probe bring lunar soil samples to Earth. ... more

Maersk to take over Panama Canal port operations from HK firm

Britain's Starmer seeks to bolster China ties despite Trump warning

Artist chains up thrashing robot dog to expose AI fears

Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project Seeks Public Support To Retrieve Apollo Era Moon Images		NASA's SDO Observes Earth, Lunar Transits in Same Day		Lunar impacts created seas of molten rock		Rhea Rev 183 Raw Preview		Cassini Makes Last Close Flyby of Saturnian Moon Rhea
China targeting navigation system's global coverage by 2020		A Window into Europa's Ocean Right at the Surface		Chinese probe in breakthrough outer space travel		Dawn forging through the main asteroid belt		China to use modified rocket for moon landing mission

Water On The Moon: It's Been There All Along

Waste Dump at the End of the World

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