Moon Exploration and Science News

May 22, 2013

Planning Accelerates For Pluto Encounter
Baltimore MD (SPX) May 22, 2013
All exploration comes with both rewards and risks. Back in 2005 and 2006, when Pluto's second and third moons (Nix and Hydra) were discovered, searches by astronomers for still more moons didn't reveal any. So the accidental discovery of Pluto's fourth moon by the Hubble Space Telescope in mid-2011 (during a search for Plutonian rings) raised the possibility that the hazards in the Pluto system might be greater than previously anticipated. Those concerns were amplified when Hubble discovered a fif ... read more

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Cassini Shapes First Global Topographic Map of Titan Scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan, giving researchers a valuable tool for learning more about one of the most Earth-like and interesting worlds in the s ... more		NASA says meteor impact on the moon glowed like a star NASA astronomers monitoring the moon for signs of meteor impacts say they've identified the biggest explosion in the history of the observation program. ... more		Bright Explosion on the Moon For the past 8 years, NASA astronomers have been monitoring the Moon for signs of explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface. "Lunar meteor showers" have turned out to be more common ... more
				Nine-Year-Old Mars Rover Passes 40-Year-Old Record While Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt visited Earth's moon for three days in December 1972, they drove their mission's Lunar Roving Vehicle 19.3 nautical miles (22.210 statut ... more		Water on moon, Earth have a common source Water inside the Moon's mantle came from primitive meteorites, new research finds, the same source thought to have supplied most of the water on Earth. The findings raise new questions about the pro ... more

Responsive Access To Space And Space Materials Symposiums

Where on Earth did the moon's water come from Water is perhaps the most important molecule in our solar system. Figuring out where it came from and how it was distributed within and among the planets can help scientists understand how planets f ... more		Water on moon, Earth came from same primitive meteorites The water found on the moon, like that on Earth, came from small meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites in the first 100 million years or so after the solar system formed, researchers from Brown ... 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?		Northrop Grumman Completes Lunar Lander Study for Golden Spike Company Northrop Grumman has completed a feasibility study for a new commercial lunar lander for the Golden Spike Company (GSC). The study confirmed the viability of lander concepts for Golden Spike's human ... more
				Scientists Use Laser to Find Soviet Moon Rover French scientists successfully used a laser to find the Soviet-era Lunokhod 1 rover on the surface of the moon, 42 years after the first planetary exploration vehicle to land on another celestial bo ... more		NASA Probe Observes Meteors Colliding with Saturn's Rings NASA's Cassini spacecraft has provided the first direct evidence of small meteoroids breaking into streams of rubble and crashing into Saturn's rings. These observations make Saturn's rings th ... more

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How to Target an Asteroid Like many of his colleagues at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., Shyam Bhaskaran is working a lot with asteroids these days. And also like many of his colleagues, the deep space na ... more		Titan's Methane: Going, Going, Soon to Be Gone? By tracking a part of the surface of Saturn's moon Titan over several years, NASA's Cassini mission has found a remarkable longevity to the hydrocarbon lakes on the moon's surface. A team led ... 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		Where are the Best Windows Into Europa's Interior? The surface of Jupiter's moon Europa exposes material churned up from inside the moon and also material resulting from matter and energy coming from above. If you want to learn about the deep saltwa ... more
				Beer Cans For Deep Space The recent announcement of a NASA plan to drag an asteroid into lunar orbit with a robot spacecraft, then stage a crewed astronaut expedition to explore it, has stunned many boffins. The plan is hig ... more		Characterizing The Lunar Radiation Environment The radiation environment near the Moon could be damaging to humans and electronics on future missions. To characterize this potentially hazardous environment, the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the ... more

Mars Rover Opportunity Examines Clay Clues in Rock

Opportunity Rides Into History For Offworld Drive

NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Drills Second Rock Target

Cassini Shapes First Global Topographic Map of Titan

'Tis the Season -- for Plasma Changes at Saturn

See Saturn at its Best and Brightest

Planning Accelerates For Pluto Encounter

'Vulcan' wins Pluto moon name vote

Public to vote on names for Pluto moons

Bright Explosion on the Moon

NASA says meteor impact on the moon glowed like a star

Where on Earth did the moon's water come from

	The Space Cowboys are Back 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 ... more		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		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		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

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

Mapping the Chemistry Needed for Life at Europa		NASA Team Investigates Complex Chemistry At Titan		Pre-existing mineralogy may survive lunar impacts		Lunar cycle determines hunting behaviour of nocturnal gulls		Ultraviolet spectrograph observes mercury and hydrogen in GRAIL impact plumes
NASA Scientists Find Moon, Asteroids Share History		LOFAR discovers new giant galaxy in all-sky survey

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