Watch Sky News as the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis II mission flies past the moon.
While previous Apollo missions have seen the far side of the moon, this is the first time NASA has sent anyone to directly examine features from this higher, wider vantage point.
So this has been another crazy week of action! Starship Flight Test 6 am I right? Well, we’ve got some wonderful new stuff to share on that, obviously. Incredible New SpaceX Starship Flight 6 Info/video, and potentially Great News from the FAA with the re-started revised draft tiered environmental assessment for Starbase. The future of this project is just wild and it has made many ask the question, do the rest of the players in the industry need to follow suit in order to stay relevant? On top of that, the always frantic pace of other missions launching off one after the other. What was happening monthly, then weekly, is now happening daily!
2023 was one of the most exciting years for space exploration. More people were in space at the same time than ever before. The number of space tourism flights also took off, and India became the fourth country to successfully soft-land on the moon – that's to name just a few highlights. 2024 is set to be just as exciting.
As a pioneering mission prepares for lift-off this week, the eyes of the world once more turn upwards - to the moon.
A rocket carrying NASA technology will blast off for the unexplored lunar south pole - part of an Earth-wide drive to find a crucial substance: water.
Hopefully, a greater amount of water can be found somewhere.
In 2020, data from NASA's SOFIA mission confirmed water exists in the sunlit area of the lunar surface as molecules of H2O embedded within, or perhaps sticking to the surface of, grains of lunar dust.
Observations from instruments on orbiters and probes found that the Moon's north and south poles probably contain over 1.3 trillion pounds (600 billion kilograms) of water ice.
Scientists have discovered a new and renewable source of water on the moon for future explorers in lunar samples from a Chinese mission. Water was embedded in tiny glass beads in the lunar dirt where meteorite impacts occur.
The first evidence of water in moon atmosphere came by an Indian device Chandra's Altitudinal Composition (CHACE) that was mounted on Moon Impact probe released from Chandrayaan -1.
So-called "Lunar Water" is water that is present on the Moon. Diffuse water molecules in low concentrations can persist at the Moon's sunlit surface, as discovered by the SOFIA observatory (an 80/20 joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Centre, DLR) in 2020. Gradually, water vapor is decomposed by sunlight, leaving hydrogen and oxygen lost to outer space. Scientists have found water ice in the cold, permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's poles. Water molecules are also present in the extremely thin lunar atmosphere.
NASA's Ice-Mining Experiment-1 (set to launch on the PRIME-1 mission no earlier than late 2024) is intended to answer whether or not water ice is present in usable quantities in the southern polar region.
Water (H2O) and the related hydroxyl group (-OH) exist in forms chemically bonded as hydrates and hydroxides to lunar minerals (rather than free water), and evidence strongly suggests that this is the case in low concentrations as for much of the Moon's surface.
Inconclusive evidence of "free water ice" at the lunar poles had accumulated during the second half of the 20th century from a variety of observations suggesting the presence of bound hydrogen.
On 18 August 1976, the Soviet Luna 24 probe landed at Mare Crisium, took samples from the depths of 118, 143, and 184 cm of the lunar regolith, and returned them to Earth. In February 1978, laboratory analysis of these samples showed that they contained 0.1% (1,000 ppm) water by mass. Spectral measurements certainly showed minima near 3, 5, and 6 µm, distinctive valence-vibration bands for water molecules, with intensities two or three times larger than the noise level.
On 24 September 2009, the Indian Space Research Organisation's Chandra's Altitudinal Composition Explorer (CHACE) and NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) spectrometer on board the Chandrayaan-1 probe had detected absorption features near 2.8–3.0 μm on the surface of the Moon. On 14 November 2008, Chandrayaan-1 released the Moon Impact Probe to impact the Shackleton crater, which helped confirm the presence of water ice. For silicate bodies, such features are typically attributed to hydroxyl- and/or water-bearing materials. In August 2018, NASA confirmed that M3 showed water ice is present on the surface at the Moon poles. Water in concentrations of 100 to 412 parts per million (0.01%-.042%) was confirmed to be on the sunlit surface of the Moon by the SOFIA observatory on October 26, 2020.
Water may have been delivered to the Moon over geological timescales by the regular bombardment of water-bearing comets, asteroids, and meteoroids or continuously produced in situ by the hydrogen ions (protons) of the solar wind impacting oxygen-bearing minerals.
The search for a greater presence of lunar water continues. Water would be very useful for long-term lunar habitation.
See Why China Is About To Take Over The Moon In 2024!
The so-called Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP; Chinese: 中国探月; pinyin: Zhōngguó Tànyuè), also known as the Chang'e Project (Chinese: 嫦娥工程; pinyin: Cháng'é Gōngchéng) after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang'e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The important program encompasses lunar orbiters (spacecrafts designed to go into orbit), landers, rovers and sample return spacecraft, launched using the Long March series of rockets. A human lunar landing component may have been added to the program, after China indeed publicly announced crewed lunar landing plans by the year 2030 during a conference in July 2023.
The program's launches and flights are monitored by a telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) system, which uses 50-meter (160-foot) radio antennas in Beijing and 40-meter (130-foot) antennas in Kunming, Shanghai, and Ürümqi to form a 3,000-kilometer (1,900-mile) VLBI antenna. A proprietary ground application system is responsible for downlink data reception.
Ouyang Ziyuan, a geologist, chemical cosmologist, and the program's chief scientist, was among the first to advocate the exploitation not only of known lunar reserves of metals such as titanium, but also of helium-3, an ideal fuel for future nuclear fusion power plants. Ye Peijian serves as the program's chief commander and chief designer. Scientist Sun Jiadong is the program's general designer and Sun Zezhou is deputy general designer. The leading program manager is Luan Enjie.
The first spacecraft of the program, the Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter, was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center on 24 October 2007, having been delayed from the initial planned date of 17–19 April 2007. A second orbiter, Chang'e 2, was launched on 1 October 2010. Chang'e 3, which includes a lander and rover, was launched on 1 December 2013 and successfully soft-landed on the Moon on 14 December 2013. Chang'e 4, which includes a lander and rover, was launched on 7 December 2018 and landed on 3 January 2019 in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, on the far side of the Moon. A sample return mission, Chang'e 5, which launched on 23 November 2020 and returned on 16 December in the same year, brought 1,731 g (61.1 oz) of lunar samples back to Earth.
As indicated by the official insignia, the shape of a calligraphic nascent lunar crescent with two human footprints at its center reminiscent of the Chinese character 月, the Chinese character for "Moon", the ultimate objective of the program is to pave the way for a crewed mission to the Moon. China National Space Administration head Zhang Kejian had announced that China is planning to build a scientific research station on the Moon's south pole "within the next 10 years," (2019–2029).
On 12 July 2023, at the 9th China (International) Commercial Aerospace Forum in Wuhan, Hubei province, Zhang Hailian, a deputy chief designer with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), publicly introduced a preliminary plan to land two astronauts on the Moon by the year 2030.
China Manned Space Agency (Chinese: 中国载人航天工程办公室) is an agency of the People's Republic of China responsible for the administration of China Manned Space Program, the Chinese human spaceflight program. The agency is under the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission.
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmV3m0QqNOY
AsapSCIENCE on Youtube has the story.
These liquid robots are truly mind-blowing and fascinating.
The Magnetic Slime Robot is interesting. A magnetic slime robot is a self-healing soft robot made up of polyvinyl alcohol, borax and neodymium magnet particles. It was co-created by professor Li Zhang of Chinese University of Hong Kong. It is really a non-Newtonian fluid that behaves like a liquid or solid depending on force, having "visco-elastic properties". The robot is developed by and could be deployed inside the human body to perform tasks such as retrieving objects out of it. Contrary to its name, it currently does not have a robot in it, and is only controlled by magnets. It can reach speeds of 30 millimeters per second.
Properties of the so-called robot are interesting. It is in the form of a blob of slime. It is said to be able to make C and O shapes with its body, and these robots could navigate passages as small as 1.5 millimeters. Its self-healing properties make it able to connect with other separate parts of itself to make a whole. It is made of neodymium magnet particles, which make the slime magnetic, and allow the slime to stretch when being attracted to metal.
The robot has various hypothetical uses for the future, such as in health care. It is believed that this kind of magnetic robot could extract unhealthy objects ingested by humans, and possibly traverse out of the body with the ingested object with it, and scientists state that the slime is capable of "transporting harmful things". The robot could be used to be deployed into the human body to retrieve objects that were possibly accidentally ingested. Zhang states that the slime can prevent toxic electrolytes from leaking out by performing encapsulation, and create a kind of coating around the object that is leaking.
Despite the possible health benefits this "robot" can provide, it is currently toxic to ingest for humans, and will leak out toxic neodymium particles into the body. Researchers coated the slime robot in silicon dioxide to make a protective layer in the belief that it will prevent the slime from having neodymium leak into human insides. Zhang states that the safety of the slime being in the human body is dependent on the time duration it stays inside.
Electrical properties of the robot are interesting. The magnetic slime robot is shown and told to be able to conduct electricity, and to pull wires together. Scientists state that the robotic slime is capable of "circuit switching and repair."
Eggs Found In 'Alien Bodies' Displayed In Mexico - Mexico Alien Corpse - N18V
Mexican doctors conducted extensive laboratory studies on the two alleged "non-human" alien corpses revealed last week. The tests were done by Jose de Jesus Zalce Benitez, a forensic doctor with the navy at the Noor Clinic on Monday. Dr Benitez said "no evidence of any assembly or manipulation of the skulls" were found.
The doctors said that the so-called bodies belonged to a single skeleton. Jaime Maussan, a Mexican journalist and longtime UFO enthusiast, presented two tiny mummified bodies with elongated heads and three fingers on each hand. One was described as female, with eggs inside.
The specimens were about 1,000 years old, according to carbon testing carried out by researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Mr Maussan claimed they were not related to any species on Earth.
Mexican doctors have carried out several laboratory studies on the remains of alleged non-human beings, which were presented in recent days to Mexico's congress.
According to Jose de Jesus Zalce Benitez, director of the Health Sciences Research Institute of the Secretary of the Navy, the studies showed that the alleged bodies belonged to a single skeleton and were not assembled.
Zalce Benitez also said that the laboratory tests have shown that "there is no evidence of any assembly or manipulation of the skulls."
Mexican journalist Jaime Maussan recently showed two tiny mummified bodies he said were "non-human" beings to congress, sparking a controversy between the scientific community and the Peruvian government, who claim that the remains are pre-Hispanic objects.
What is Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM)?
DW News on Youtube has the story about JAXA and Moon.
There's been a fresh burst of interest in the moon, with three lunar missions launched in the summer of 2023 alone. Though the Russian Luna 25 mission failed, India's Chandrayaan-3 lander succeeded. Japan hopes its SLIM lander will join it on the moon in the months to come.
'INTERSTELLAR': Does this Harvard scientist have proof of alien life?
Fox News on Youtube has the story.
Harvard's Dr. Avi Loeb joins 'Fox News Saturday Night' to discuss finding hundreds of tiny metal fragments apparently not from our solar system.
An interstellar object is an astronomical object (such as an asteroid, a comet, or a rogue planet, but not a star) in interstellar space that is not gravitationally bound to a star. This term can also be applied to an object that is on an interstellar trajectory but is temporarily passing close to a star, such as certain asteroids and comets (including exocomets). In the latter case, the object may be called an interstellar interloper.
The first interstellar objects discovered were rogue planets, planets ejected from their original stellar system (e.g., OTS 44 or Cha 110913−773444), though they are difficult to distinguish from sub-brown dwarfs, planet-mass objects that formed in interstellar space as stars do.
The first interstellar object which was discovered traveling through the Solar System was 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017. The second was 2I/Borisov in 2019. They both possess significant hyperbolic excess velocity, indicating they did not originate in the Solar System. The discovery of ʻOumuamua inspired the identification of CNEOS 2014-01-08, also known as the Manus Island fireball, as an interstellar object that impacted the Earth. This was confirmed by the USA Space Command in 2022 based on the object's velocity relative to the so-called Sun. In May 2023, astronomers reported the possible capture of other interstellar objects in Near Earth Orbit (NEO) over the years.
SpinLaunch: New technology aims to put a whole new spin on space travel
CBS News on Youtube has the story.
A new form of technology is trying to send items into space with an innovative new method. The SpinLaunch aims to reduce the carbon footprint of space travel by using a vacuum chamber to launch objects. Jeff Glor has more.
In the vast expanse of space, a mysterious visitor captured our imaginations and baffled scientists around the world. But while scientists and astronomers struggled to comprehend what this strange interstellar object was upon its first appearance, NASA’s James Webb Telescope has since changed this narrative. The JWST has broadened our window into the cosmos and has now unveiled the first-ever real image of Oumuamua—the enigmatic interstellar object that sparked controversy and speculation.
ʻOumuamua is indeed the first interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System. Formally designated 1I/2017 U1, it was discovered by Robert Weryk using the Pan-STARRS telescope at Haleakalā Observatory, Hawaii, on 19 October 2017, approximately 40 days after it passed its closest point to the Sun on 9 September. When it was first observed, it was about 33 million km (21 million mi; 0.22 AU) from Earth (about 85 times as far away as the Moon) and already heading away from the Sun.
ʻOumuamua is a small object estimated to be between 100 and 1,000 metres (300 and 3,000 ft) long, with its width and thickness both estimated between 35 and 167 metres (115 and 548 ft). It has a red color, like objects in the outer Solar System. Despite its close approach to the Sun, it showed no signs of having a coma. It exhibited non‑gravitational acceleration, potentially due to outgassing or a push from solar radiation pressure. It has a rotation rate similar to that of Solar System asteroids, but many valid models permit it to be more elongated than all but a few other natural bodies. Its light curve, assuming little systematic error, presents its motion as "tumbling" rather than "spinning", and moving sufficiently fast relative to the Sun that it is likely of an extrasolar origin. Extrapolated and without further deceleration, its path cannot be captured into a solar orbit, so it will eventually leave the Solar System and continue into interstellar space. Its planetary system of origin and age are unknown.
Read more here: https://www.science.org/content/article/mystery-our-first-interstellar-visitor-may-be-solved
Oumuamua: is it asteroid, comet, or alien spaceship?
"Oumuamua", as scientists christened it, was also odd in that it looked like an asteroid but behaved like a comet. Now, a team of researchers says "Oumuamua" was definitely a comet, albeit one with an unusual makeup.
India has launched its first space mission to study the sun. The Aditya L1 spacecraft will travel to the outermost part of the sun's orbit. Its aim is to record data that will help scientists to understand how massive explosions of solar gases happen, and and how they impact the Earth. The mission is due to take around 5 years.
That means India's last two space missions have been successful. Both missions are different, technically difficult missions. Do they proove that India is now among the leaders in space exploration?
Both China and India are rising military and economic powers. They regularly clash on their shared border, and both countries have very ambitious space programs. Will this rivalry in space change their relationship on the ground?
Some discoveries in space affect the way we live on earth, but how much of space exploration is really about politics, bravado and flexing on the world stage?
India has become the fourth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon, but is the first to touch down on the relatively unexplored lunar south pole.
The country's space agency has successfully tested a lander hop experiment. It means the lander made the soft-landing again on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-3 Rover Confirms Sulphur On Moon's Surface
See Vantage with Palki Sharma.
See Firstpost Channel on Youtube.
Chandrayaan-3's Pragyan rover has confirmed the presence of sulphur on the lunar south, in a first. It has also detected a number of other elements on the moon's surface. What does the presence of sulphur mean? What does Pragyan plan on finding next? Palki Sharma tells you.
Chandrayaan-3 is an interesting science vehicle with ISRO.
Pragyan is sure a lunar rover that forms part of Chandrayaan-3, a lunar mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation. A previous iteration of the rover was launched as part of Chandrayaan-2 on 22 July 2019 and was destroyed with its lander, Vikram, when it crashed on the Moon on 6 September.
Pragyaan Rover is from India. The Moon Mission is exciting to find different elements like Sulphur and Oxygen.
Sulfur (S) is also spelled sulphur. This is a nonmetallic chemical element belonging to the oxygen group (Group 16 [VIa] of the periodic table), one of the most reactive of the elements. Pure sulfur is a tasteless, odourless, brittle solid that is pale yellow in colour, a poor conductor of electricity, and insoluble in water.
Group 16 or VIA of the extended form of periodic table consists of six elements oxygen (O), sulphur (S). selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), polonium (Po) and ununhexium (Uuh)". This family is known as oxygen family. These (except polonium and ununhexium) are the ore forming elements and thus called chalcogens.
India moon landing: Chandrayaan-3 successfully lands on lunar surface
Global News on Youtube has the story.
The moon received a new visitor from planet Earth on Wednesday as India staked a bold new claim in the global space race.
India’s spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 safely landed on the surface of the moon on Wednesday, closer to the moon’s unexplored south pole.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched the landing from South Africa, where he is attending the BRICS summit. He congratulated the whole nation and mentioned that India’s successful moon mission is not just India’s alone, this success belongs to all humanity. He added, “ We can all aspire for the moon, and beyond.”
This was India's second attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon and comes less than a week after Russia's Luna-25 mission failed to accomplish the same goal.
Chandrayaan-3 is certainly the third Indian lunar exploration mission under the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan programme. It consists of a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan, similar to those of the Chandrayaan-2 mission. The propulsion module carried the lander and rover configuration to lunar orbit in preparation for a powered descent by the lander.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and the lander touched down in the lunar south pole region on 23 August 2023 at 18:02 IST, making India the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon, and the first to do so near the lunar south pole.
The Moon is certainly Earth's only natural satellite. Its diameter is about one-quarter of Earth's (comparable to the width of Australia), making it the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet. It is larger than all known dwarf planets in the Solar System. The Moon is a planetary-mass object with a differentiated rocky body, making it a satellite planet under the geophysical definitions of the term. It lacks any significant atmosphere, hydrosphere, or magnetic field. Its surface gravity is about one-sixth of Earth's at 0.1654 g—Jupiter's moon Io is the only satellite in the Solar System known to have a higher surface gravity and density.
The Moon really orbits Earth at an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), or about 30 times Earth's diameter. Its gravitational influence is the main driver of Earth's tides and very slowly lengthens Earth's day. The Moon's orbit around Earth has a sidereal period of 27.3 days. During each synodic period of 29.5 days, the amount of the Moon's Earth-facing surface that is illuminated by the Sun varies from none up to nearly 100%, resulting in lunar phases that form the basis for the months of a lunar calendar. The Moon is tidally locked to Earth, which means that the length of a full rotation of the Moon on its own axis causes its same side (the near side) to always face Earth, and the somewhat longer lunar day is the same as the synodic period. Due to cyclical shifts in perspective (libration), 59% of the lunar surface is visible from Earth.
Presenting the Billion Dollar Question: Why did, it require 40 days, for the Chandra yaan-3 Lunar Exploration mission to reach the Southern pole of the Moon?
In contrast, China's Chang'e 2, launched in 2010, only took four days to cover the distance between Earth and the Moon.
The Soviet Union's Luna-1, the pioneering unmanned mission that came close to the Moon, accomplished the journey in a mere 36 hours.
Even Apollo 11's command module, Columbia, which carried three astronauts, reached the Moon in just slightly over four days.
Well, the I S R O program, has a budget of just $75 million , which is the main reason they have to use the ingenious method to lower cost by implementing the gravitational pull of the moon and the earth, to get to it's destination because of it's Less powerful rockets.
The Chinese Chang e 2 cost around $219 Million, adjusted to inflation, it's over $316 million
The Soviet Union Luna 1 in the 1960s cost around $200 million, when adjusted to inflation.
The estimated cost of the Soviet Union, Luna program in 1964 was , 6 to $10 billion.
And the most Ambitious program, Apollo 11! cost a staggering $25 Billion, during the 1960s and when adjusted to present-day, inflation it’s around $200 Billion.
Chandrayaan-3 is certainly the third Indian lunar exploration mission under the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan programme. It consists of a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan, similar to those of the Chandrayaan-2 mission. The propulsion module carried the lander and rover configuration to lunar orbit in preparation for a powered descent by the lander.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and the lander touched down in the lunar south pole region on 23 August 2023 at 18:02 IST, making India the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon, and the first to do so near the lunar south pole.
What SpaceX just did with Falcon 9 is totally shocking to the entire world!
With the ability to take humans to new frontiers of the universe, SpaceX's Starship is considered one of the hottest spots attracting global attention. This is not surprising as SpaceX has previously achieved a historic milestone with the Falcon 9 rocket, which Elon Musk dubbed as SpaceX's "workhorse." The success of Falcon 9 has captured the world's attention and brought awareness to the breakthroughs in space technology that the company is achieving.
So what did SpaceX do with Falcon 9 to shock the whole world?
FAA faces lawsuit over SpaceX's Starship launch license to the local environment...
It's been two weeks since the historic launch of SpaceX Starship, Elon Musk recently revealed that SpaceX should be ready to relaunch Starship in 6 to 8 weeks.
Yeah, that is the plan but the reality may take longer than that to get the necessary approvals.
In fact, Starship was grounded indefinitely by FAA. On the other hand, FAA is facing a lawsuit over SpaceX’s damage to the local environment.
How SpaceX is trying to do to bring Starship back to orbit?
All this and more in this episode of Great SpaceX.
