Wednesday, December 4, 2019

The remains of India’s first lunar lander have been found on the Moon – TechCrunch

India’s Vikram lander was very near making its proud creators the fourth country in history to touch down on the Moon — but it was not to be, and the craft was lost . Now India has a bit of closure: The remains of the lander have been located on the Moon’s surface .

After the accident, the United States’ Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter made a pass over the intended landing zone and snapped some pictures. Shanmuga Subramanian, an engineer in Channai, India, was poring over them when he noticed what appeared to be the marks of debris.

logo
Publisher: TechCrunch
Date: 2019-12-03 12:14:48
Twitter: @techcrunch
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



Quite a lot has been going on:

NASA news: Tensions erupt with India over Vikram Lander crash site on the Moon | Science | News |

Although India’s Vikram Lander crashed way back in September the agency had remained strangely tight-lipped about the event not releasing location images of the crash.

ISRO claimed that Chandrayaan-2 orbiter that made the trip along with the lander had managed to spot the crash site shortly after the failed landing attempt but it wasn’t until NASA’s investigative efforts that the public knew at large.

Images taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), were said by the agency to show the exact impact point of the crash along with debris filed nearby.

Publisher: Express.co.uk
Date: 2019-12-05T02:33:00+00:00
Author: Sam Whitworth
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



Why The December 2019 Full Moon Is Called The Cold Moon

The weather outside is frightful, but full moons are so delightful! That's why we're all looking forward to December's lovely luminary, which peaks in the skies at 9:12 p.m. PT on Dec. 11 and is also known as the Cold Moon . You may have heard this lunar nickname before, and if you're wondering why the December 2019 full moon is called the Cold Moon , I can confirm that yes, it is partially because of the fact that it takes place while it's this freaking cold outside.

"During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest," the Farmer's Almanac explains. And the Cold Moon isn't the only well-known moon title you might recognize. Some others include the Harvest Moons of September or October, the Pink Moon of April (any Nick Drake fans in here?), and most adorably, IMO, the oh-so-summery Strawberry Moon, which takes place in June.

Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



New NASA human spaceflight leader calls SLS "mandatory" for return to the moon - SpaceNews.com

WASHINGTON — The new head of NASA's human spaceflight programs affirmed his support for the Space Launch System Dec. 3, saying the long-delayed heavy-lift rocket is "absolutely mandatory" for returning humans to the moon.

Speaking at a town hall meeting with agency employees at NASA Headquarters, Doug Loverro, who started work Dec. 2 as the new associate administrator for human exploration and operations, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine pushed back against criticism that the SLS is too expensive to be sustainable for NASA compared to commercial vehicles that promise to cost far less.

logo
Publisher: SpaceNews.com
Date: 2019-12-04T12:09:37+00:00
Author:
Twitter: @SpaceNews_Inc
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



And here's another article:

4 Zodiac Signs The December 2019 Full Moon Will Affect The Least

Though it might seem like it has been winter for ages, it's still fall, and we still have one more full moon before we officially transition into the winter luminaries. On Dec. 12, at 12:12 a.m. ET, the night sky will host the last fall full moon, which is also the last full moon of 2019, making it a pretty important moon.

Aries can't be bothered with full moon rituals or putting too much energy into setting intentions. On Dec. 12, Stardust says that you're going to "give yourself permission to destress," only. "This means having a peaceful day without annoyances from others," aka, tell your friends you can't hang out and turn your phone off. You need this quiet time, so while it might feel inactive, it's actually progressive.

Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



NASA's New Human Spaceflight Chief Optimistic for Moon 2024 Goals | Space

NASA just appointed a new leader for its human spaceflight program, and he's dead set on making sure the agency puts astronauts on the moon in 2024. 

Douglas Loverro was sworn in as the new associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate on Monday (Dec. 2), and on Tuesday he hosted an agency-wide town hall at NASA Headquarters in Washington to introduce himself to the workforce. 

During the town hall, Loverro answered some tough questions from NASA workers about the feasibility of a 2024 moon landing, the possibility that funding issues could delay or even cancel the Artemis program , and the future of NASA's long-delayed and over budget Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

logo
Publisher: Space.com
Date: 2019-12-04T15:48:25+00:00
Author: https www facebook com spacecom
Twitter: @SPACEdotcom
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



China's lunar rover travels over 345 meters on moon's far side - Xinhua | English.news.cn

BEIJING, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's lunar rover Yutu-2 has driven 345.059 meters on the far side of the moon to conduct scientific exploration of the virgin territory.

Both the lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have ended their work for the 12th lunar day, and switched to dormant mode for the lunar night, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said Wednesday.

Due to the complicated geological environment and the rugged and heavily cratered terrain on the far side of the moon, Chinese space engineers carefully planned the driving routes of the rover to ensure its safety.

Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



First Photo of Earth Taken from the Moon Sold for $8K at Sotheby's | Asgardia - The Space Nation

You can now own a piece of history. Like that day in November 1969, when Apollo 12 astronaut Charles 'Pete' Conrad holds the unfurled flag on the surface of the moon, on which one can see footprints. Or the same mission’s Alan Bean, who stands with a Hasselblad camera during a moonwalk, Conrad reflected in his visor.

* * *

The bidding for the auction closed yesterday, with most of the photos going for around $2,000-$3,000 , although some have been sold for as much as $8,000 , and many for under a thousand. The vintage silver gelatin prints were developed in NASA’s  photo labs right after the missions. Some are also autographed by the astronauts who took them.

Twitter: @AsgardiaSpace
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



Happening on Twitter

No comments:

Post a Comment