Moon Exploration and Science News

July 23, 2015

New Horizons 'Captures' Two of Pluto's Smaller Moons
Laurel MD (SPX) Jul 22, 2015
While Pluto's largest moon, Charon, has grabbed most of the lunar spotlight, two of Pluto's smaller and lesser-known satellites are starting to come into focus via new images from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft. Nix and Hydra - the second and third moons to be discovered - are approximately the same size, but their similarity ends there. New Horizons' first color image of Nix, in which colors have been enhanced, reveals an intriguing region on the jelly bean-shaped satellite, which is estimated to ... read more

Previous Issues

Jul 22

Jul 21

Jul 20

Jul 18

Jul 17

Technique may reveal the age of moon rocks during spaceflight Researchers are developing instruments and methods for measuring the ages of rocks encountered during space missions to the Moon or other planets. Many of the techniques used to date rocks on Earth ... more		Smithsonian embraces crowdfunding to preserve lunar spacesuit The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum turned to Kickstarter on Monday to raise $500,000 to restore the spacesuit that Neil Armstrong wore when he became the first man to walk on the moon. ... more		NASA Sets Sights on Robot-Built Moon Colony It may not be quite Earth-like enough to be habitable, but the Moon is our closest planetary body, and that proximity would make it ideal for an extraplanetary base of operations. NASA is now seriou ... more
				Charon's Surprising Youthful and Varied Terrain Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 m ... more		Solving the gravitational N-body problem in general relativity Recent experiments have successfully tested Einstein's general theory of relativity in a variety of ways and to remarkable precision. These experiments included spacecraft Doppler tracking, planetar ... more

The World's Largest Commercial Drone Conference and Expo - Sept 9 - Las Vegas

Next Generation Integrated ISR 2015 - Washington DC - July 27-29

Nuclear Decommissioning And Used Fuel Market 2015

Solar systems for home and business installations

Early Titan Was a Cold, Hostile Place For Life Titan is a mysterious orange-socked moon of Saturn that is exciting to astrobiologists because it has some of the same kinds of chemicals that were precursors to life on Earth. It also has a hydrolo ... more		Advances in Robots Needed to Explore Icy Moons In December 2013, researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope announced they had found evidence of a water plume emanating from Europa's surface. The finding excited astrobiologists because this mo ... more		Greenland truce or Trump win? Davos "framework" pauses tariffs but not the takeover boasts Greenlanders doubtful over Trump resolution EU says ready to sign defence and security pact with India		Russia to Launch Large-Scale Space Projects With China The joint Russian-Chinese talks entailed implementing joint projects in the field, as well as the willingness to synchronize mutual hardware platforms and technological interfaces. "The Chines ... more
				China's super "eye" to speed up space rendezvous Chinese space experts have developed the world's most sensitive "eye" that enables the autonomous rendezvous and docking of two spacecraft - flying eight times faster than bullets - more efficiently ... more		Russia to Land Space Vessel on Moon's Polar Region in 2019 Russia's lunar research is currently undergoing "Earth trials" before landing on the moon in 2019, a Russian delegation member connected with the development of the space vessel said at an airshow o ... more

Nuclear Operations and Maintenance Efficiency Summit USA 2015

Moon engulfed in permanent, lopsided dust cloud The moon is engulfed in a permanent but lopsided dust cloud that increases in density when annual events like the Geminids spew shooting stars, according to a new study led by University of Colorado ... more		All Systems Go for NASA's Mission to Jupiter Moon Europa Beyond Earth, Jupiter's moon Europa is considered one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for signs of present-day life, and a new NASA mission to explore this potential is mo ... more		Trump vows to relaunch Egypt-Ethiopia talks on dam row China's birth rate falls to lowest on record Chile police arrest suspect over deadly wildfires		Titan's atmosphere even more Earth-like than previously thought Scientists at UCL have observed how a widespread polar wind is driving gas from the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan. The team analysed data gathered over seven years by the international Cassini p ... more
Dissolving Titan Saturn's moon Titan is home to seas and lakes filled with liquid hydrocarbons, but what makes the depressions they lie in? A new study suggests that the moon's surface dissolves in a similar process ... more		Communicating with hypersonic vehicles in flight Near the end of the movie Apollo 13, which depicts the harrowing journey of the three astronauts aboard the aborted 1970 lunar mission, the tension mounts in textbook fashion. As the spacecraft hurd ... more		Saturn Spacecraft to Buzz Icy Moon Dione June 16 NASA's Cassini spacecraft will make a close flyby of Saturn's moon Dione on June 16, coming within 321 miles (516 kilometers) of the moon's surface. The spacecraft will make its closest approach to ... more		Asteroid Icarus to Make Distant Pass Tuesday Asteroid Icarus will safely pass by Earth at more than 21 times the distance of Earth to the moon on June 16. To put it another way, Icarus, one of the first near-Earth asteroids ever discover ... more

	NASA Scientists Seek to Unveil Mysteries of Europa's Ocean NASA plans to kick off a number of space missions to the icy Jovian moon of Europa by the mid-2020s, paving the way for a possible landing. NASA plans to launch multiple space missions to Europa, th ... more		Cassini Sends Final Close Views of Odd Moon Hyperion NASA's Cassini spacecraft has returned images from its final close approach to Saturn's oddball moon Hyperion, upholding the moon's reputation as one of the most bizarre objects in the solar system. ... more

Quantum transport method reads open quantum states

Scientists uncover new quantum state that could power future technologies

Early universe dark matter born red hot before cooling

Crashing comets may explain mysterious lunar swirls		NASA's Exploration Plans Include Living Off the Land		Google Lunar X-Prize meets Yoda		Cassini Prepares for Last Up-close Look at Hyperion		The Moon or Mars: Flawed Debate, False Choice - Part One
Flawed Debates begets false choices beyond LEO - Part Two		Europa Mission Begins with Selection of Science Instruments		Planetary Science Institute researchers to study Jupiter's moon Europa		China, Russia plan joint landing on the Moon		China Plans First Ever Landing On The Lunar Far Side

Buy Advertising

Media Advertising Kit

Editorial & Other Enquiries

Privacy statement

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.