Moon Exploration and Science News

July 15, 2013

A Giant Moon for the Ninth Planet
Boulder CO (SPX) Jul 10, 2013
This week the New Horizons mission team is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the discovery of Pluto's largest and "first" moon, Charon. This discovery was made in 1978 by U.S. Naval Observatory astronomers James Christy and Robert Harrington, working in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Washington, D.C. Charon, whose discovery was first announced on July 7, 1978, orbits about 19,400 kilometers (12,500 miles) from Pluto and has a diameter of about 1,207 kilometers (750 miles) - about the width of Texas. At h ... read more

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First Mission of Space Launch System with Orion Atop it to Preview Asteroid Visit Managers in NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate have initiated a formal request to change the mission plan for the agency's first flight of the Space Launch System (SLS), Exp ... more		New insights concerning the early bombardment history on Mercury The surface of Mercury is rather different from those of well-known rocky bodies like the Moon and Mars. Early images from the Mariner 10 spacecraft unveiled a planet covered by smooth plains and cr ... more		Scientist says Earth may once have been orbited by two moons The Earth may once have had two moons, one of them a smaller twin that collided with the moon we see orbiting our planet today, a U.S lunar scientist says. ... more
				Dust hazard for Moon missions: scientists A return to the Moon could be hampered by dust, a poorly-understood threat to machines and people alike, according to a presentation at a space conference that ended Friday. ... more		NASA Seeks Information on Commercial Robotic Lunar Lander Capabilities NASA Tuesday issued a Request for Information (RFI) that will help agency officials better understand current plans in the U.S. commercial space industry for a robotic lunar landing capability. The ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Orbiting astronaut controls robot on Earth, testing feasibility of CU-Boulder project on far side of the moon n astronaut orbiting Earth in the International Space Station has remotely directed a NASA rover in California to unfurl an "antenna film" that scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder are d ... more		Metamorphosis of Moon's Water Ice Explained Using data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, scientists have explained how energetic particles penetrating lunar soil can create molecular hydrogen from water ice. The f ... 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?		Antifreeze on Titan Could Affect Its Chances for Life Antifreeze normally helps prevent freezing, but scientists find a common antifreeze compound that might exist on Saturn's largest moon Titan can get trapped within ice-like cages. This discove ... more
				Scientists use gravity, topographic data to find unmapped moon craters Australian scientists say they've used ultra-high resolution mapping techniques to identify 280 craters on the moon that have never been mapped before. ... more		Australian team maps Moon's hidden craters Australian scientists Tuesday said they had identified a possible 280 additional craters on the Moon, a finding they said could shed light on the history of the Earth's natural satellite. ... more

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Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Moon Radiation Findings May Reduce Health Risks to Astronauts Space scientists from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) report that data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) show lighter materials ... more		Tiny Submersible Could Search for Life in Europa's Ocean One of the first visitors to Jupiter's icy moon of Europa could be a tiny submarine barely larger than two soda cans. The small craft might help strike the right balance between cost and capability ... 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		LADEE Arrives at Wallops for Moon Mission The NASA Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) arrived today at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility to begin final processing for its trip to the moon later this year. LADEE is a r ... more
				NASA's GRAIL Mission Solves Mystery of Moon's Surface Gravity NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission has uncovered the origin of massive invisible regions that make the moon's gravity uneven, a phenomenon that affects the operations of ... more		NASA Radar Reveals Asteroid Has Its Own Moon A sequence of radar images of asteroid 1998 QE2 was obtained on the evening of May 29, 2013, by NASA scientists using the 230-foot (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif., when th ... more

Opportunity Making Progress Toward Solander Point

DNA-sequencing chip could be sent to Mars to search for signs of life

Mars Rover Curiosity Begins Trek Toward Mount Sharp

Revealed - the mystery of the gigantic storm on Saturn

Cassini Finds Hints of Activity at Saturn Moon Dione

Wild Weather Could Be Ahead on Titan

A Giant Moon for the Ninth Planet

Kerberos and Styx: Welcome to the Pluto System

New Horizons Team Sticking to Original Flight Plan at Pluto

Scientist says Earth may once have been orbited by two moons

Dust hazard for Moon missions: scientists

NASA Seeks Information on Commercial Robotic Lunar Lander Capabilities

	Cassini Finds Hints of Activity at Saturn Moon Dione From a distance, most of the Saturnian moon Dione resembles a bland cueball. Thanks to close-up images of a 500-mile-long (800-kilometer-long) mountain on the moon from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, sc ... more		Moon dust samples missing for 40 years found in Calif. warehouse Samples of moon dust gathered by the first men to walk on the moon and missing for more than 40 years have been found in a California warehouse, officials said. ... more		Unusual minerals in moon craters may have been delivered from space Unusual minerals in impact craters on the moon may not have originated on the moon, but may be from asteroids that created the craters a U.S. researcher says. ... more		Bacterium from Canadian High Arctic and life on Mars The temperature in the permafrost on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian high Arctic is nearly as cold as that of the surface of Mars. So the recent discovery by a McGill University led team of scienti ... 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

Wild Weather Could Be Ahead on Titan		Moon being pushed away from Earth faster than ever		Planning Accelerates For Pluto Encounter		Cassini Shapes First Global Topographic Map of Titan		NASA says meteor impact on the moon glowed like a star
Bright Explosion on the Moon		Nine-Year-Old Mars Rover Passes 40-Year-Old Record

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