Moon Exploration and Science News

December 25, 2013

Mars Express heading towards daring flyby of Phobos
Paris (ESA) Dec 25, 2013
Late this month, ESA's Mars Express will make the closest flyby yet of the Red Planet's largest moon Phobos, skimming past at only 45 km above its surface. The flyby on 29 December will be so close and fast that Mars Express will not be able to take any images, but instead it will yield the most accurate details yet of the moon's gravitational field and, in turn, provide new details of its internal structure. As the spacecraft passes close to Phobos, it will be pulled slightly off course by ... read more

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China's moon rover continues lunar survey after photographing lander China's first moon rover, Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, continued patrol explorations on the lunar surface after taking photos of the lander for the fifth and final time early on Sunday. According to ... more		China's Yutu "naps", awakens and explores Beijing (XNA) Dec 21, 2013 China's moon rover, Yutu (Jade Rabbit), continued exploring after a "nap", according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence ... more		NASA Releases New Earthrise Simulation Video NASA has issued a new visualization of the events leading to one of the iconic photographs of the 20th Century - Earth rising over the moon captured by the crew of the Apollo 8 mission. The photo k ... more
				Will the Moon be carved-up? Experts forecast that the Moon will become sort of the seventh continent of Earth by the middle of the 21st century. People will reclaim the polar regions and build residential areas there. In this ... more		Most Chang'e-3 science tools activated Six out of the eight pieces of scientific equipment deployed to the moon with the Chang'e-3 lunar mission have been activated by scientists and are functioning properly, according to scientists work ... more

NASA's Deep Space Network: The Original 'Wireless Network' Turns 50 NASA's Deep Space Network, the world's largest and most powerful communications system for "talking to" spacecraft, will reach a milestone on Dec. 24: the 50th anniversary of its official creation. ... more		Clay-Like Minerals Found on Icy Crust of Europa A new analysis of data from NASA's Galileo mission has revealed clay-type minerals at the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa that appear to have been delivered by a spectacular collision with an a ... more		North Korea to soon unveil 'next-stage' nuclear plans, Kim says Greenland dispute is 'wake-up call' for Europe: Macron Trump warns US to end support for Iraq if Maliki returns		Chinese sci-fi writers laud moon landing The landing of China's first moon rover on the lunar surface on Sunday morning has had the nation's sci-fi writers cheering for fiction's gradual unfolding into reality. Chinese legend has it that C ... more
				China plans to launch Chang'e-5 in 2017 China plans to launch lunar probe Chang'e-5 in 2017, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. "The development of Chang'e-5 is proceeding smoot ... more		China's Lunar Lander May Provide Additional Science for NASA Spacecraft After sending 12 humans to the moon's surface during the Apollo Program, NASA remains committed to lunar science. Building on modern missions such as Clementine and Lunar Prospector and recent missi ... more

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Chinaese moon rover and lander photograph each other China's first moon rover and lander took photos of each other on the moon's surface Sunday night, a move that marks a complete success of the country's Chang'e-3 lunar probe mission. Ma Xingru ... more		Mining the moon is pie in the sky for China: experts China's moon rover will survey for minerals on a dusty, barren crater named the Bay of Rainbows, but experts say there may be no pot of gold on the Earth's natural satellite. ... more		NASA advances space based tracking of marine debris Trump-era trade stress leads Western powers to China Trump troop deployments in US cities cost nearly $500 mn in 2025		Chang'e-3 probe moves closer to the moon China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 entered an orbit closer to the moon on Tuesday night. Following an order from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, the probe descended from the 100 km-high lunar ... more
				First Rock Dating Experiment Performed on Mars Although researchers have determined the ages of rocks from other planetary bodies, the actual experiments-like analyzing meteorites and moon rocks-have always been done on Earth. Now, for the first ... more		Hubble discovers water vapour venting from Jupiter's moon Europa The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has discovered water vapour erupting from the frigid surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, in one or more localised plumes near its south pole. Europa is alread ... more

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Commentary: Lunar probe boosts "Chinese dream"		Designer: moon rover uses cutting-edge technology		Moon gardens: NASA to sow first seeds of future habitat		Helping China To The Moon		Japanese firm describes proposed 'power belt' for the moon

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