NASA has unveiled new policies to protect the moon and Mars (and Earth) from contamination as human spaceflight advances.
The agency released two NASA Interim Directives (NIDs) today (July 9) that detail new requirements for human and robotic missions traveling to and from the moon and Mars. These directives were enacted to protect the planetary bodies from any possible biological contamination that could originate on Earth and ultimately interfere with scientific research (or additionally, in the case of Mars, to also prevent any possible biological material from being brought home to Earth.)
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Scientists Might Have Found the Moon's Missing Metal - ExtremeTech
Scientists studying the moon have long puzzled over the low metal content of Earth’s satellite. After all, if the moon formed from fragments of Earth, shouldn’t it have similar metal content? NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) might finally have found an explanation for this apparent discrepancy : the metal might be buried deep below the surface.
No one knows exactly how the moon formed, but most researchers accept the collision hypothesis as the most probable. According to this model, a massive planetoid the size of Mars collided with the primordial Earth several billion years ago. The impact blasted large portions of Earth’s crust into space, which would have formed a ring that slowly coalesced into the moon we know today.
Scientists Identify Green, Gel-Like Substance Found on Moon
A year ago, China's Yutu-2 rover found a mysterious, green, gel-like substance on the surface of the moon. Now, scientists know what it is.
Assuming that you hadn't heard of the gel-like substance until today, though, I'd like to give you some time to think about what it might be, and form a guess. This will be like a better version of Netflix's reboot of Unsolved Mysteries . In this version, you are clued in on a mystery, given some time to figure out your theory, and then told the answer. (In Unsolved Mysteries, you are not told the answer, as the answer is Unsolved .)
Newly discovered Moon metals make scientists rethink its origin story
How was the Moon formed? The most-widely-accepted theory suggests that billions of years ago, our young planet was struck by a body as large as Mars, forming the Moon. However, new observations of the levels of metals on our companion world suggest this origin story may need updating.
Roughly 4.5 billion years ago, Theia — a Mars-sized world — is thought to have collided with the upper crust of the Earth, a region of our planet relatively poor in metals. This impact kicked large quantities of material into orbit around the Earth, which coalesced into the Moon.
And here's another article:
Chinese scientists reveal analysis of weird substance found on the moon's far side by Yutu 2
Chinese scientists have published an analysis of a curious substance on the moon which generated widespread interest following its discovery by the Yutu 2 rover last year.
The discovery was made by a Yutu 2 drive team member in July 2019, during lunar day 8 of the rover's mission, which is part of China's Chang'e 4 mission to explore the far side of the moon. A report by Our Space, a Chinese-language science-outreach publication, revealed the discovery on Aug. 17 and described the substance using the term "胶状物" ("jiao zhuang wu"), which can be translated as "gel-like."
Surprise Discovery in Lunar Craters Could Force Us to Rethink The Moon's Origins
Scientists still aren't entirely sure how the Moon formed, though plenty of hypotheses have been discussed . Now, new findings around metal deposits in lunar craters could mean we need to rethink those hypotheses again.
In short, the findings suggest there are more metals like iron and titanium in the Moon's craters than we thought there were – and that might point to a rich store of metal material just under the lunar surface.
How much metal the Moon is holding in comparison to Earth is one of the key clues astronomers have when trying to figure out how our satellite came to exist. Any adjustments in those readings can tell us more about the Moon's origins.
18 Spectacular Photos Of July's Buck Moon And Lunar Eclipse
The buck moon rises behind Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City as seen from ... [+] Kearny, New Jersey.
This month's full moon was at its peak on July 5 at 12:44 a.m EDT and photographers around the world filled their viewfinders with great images.
July's full moon is known as the Buck Moon because it occurs around the time when young male deer grow their antlers. But it's also graced with many other nicknames by different cultures including "Thunder Moon," "Hay Moon," "Mead Moon," "Rose Moon," 'Elk Moon and 'Summer Moon."
House budget bill denies major increases for NASA to fund ambitious Moon program - The Verge
House appropriators don't intend to substantially increase NASA's budget , potentially jeopardizing the agency's plans of sending astronauts back to the Moon by 2024.
Today, the House Appropriations Committee released its latest funding bill for fiscal year 2021 , detailing the budgets for all commerce, justice, and science agencies in the US. The bill would give NASA a total budget of $22.63 billion for next year, the same amount the agency received for 2020. However, it's nearly $3 billion less than the $25.2 billion the Trump administration called for in the president's budget request — a hefty amount intended to fund an ambitious lunar return.
Happening on Twitter
NASA unveils new rules to protect the moon and Mars from Earth germs https://t.co/4Wgz0kgaY1 https://t.co/f3FpC6gYjK SPACEdotcom (from NYC) Fri Jul 10 00:11:35 +0000 2020
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