lunar
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Scientists grow plants in soil from the Moon for the first time
The University of Florida researchers only had 12 grams of 'lunar regolith' to work with.
China's Chang'e-5 probe finds on-site evidence of water on the Moon's surface
China’s Chang’e-5 lunar lander has found water on the surface of the Moon, marking the first-ever time scientists have found on-site evidence of the substance on Earth’s satellite.
GM and Lockheed Martin team up to answer NASA's call for autonomous lunar vehicle concepts
GM and Lockheed Martin have teamed up to answer NASA's call for autonomous lunar vehicle concepts for its Artemis mission.
China's Chang'e-5 probe returns to Earth with lunar samples
China's Chang'e-5 probe landed after a mission to grab samples from the moon.
NASA taps Nokia to bring LTE to the Moon
LTE service could be coming to the Moon.
Astrobotic’s tiny Moon rover is on its way to NASA for testing
Astrobotic's lunar CubeRover is heading to Kennedy Space Center for testing.
NASA wants your help designing future moon toilets
NASA needs help designing the next astronaut toilet.
India’s lunar lander crashed within 500 meters of its target
In September, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) lost contact with its Vikram lander as it was making its descent to the lunar surface. If you were one of the people who guessed that Vikram crashed, you are correct. In a report to lawmakers, ISRO has confirmed that Vikram did indeed "hard land."
These engineers and tech execs want to create a peaceful lunar settlement
A group of Silicon Valley tech executives and engineers want to create a peaceful, multinational lunar settlement. According to Bloomberg, the San Francisco-based Open Lunar Foundation plans to invest in hardware "to accelerate the exploration and settlement of the moon." And it's committed to creating a kind of cooperative that wouldn't be tied to one particular country or billionaire.
India's historic Moon mission takes off after week-long delay
One week after a "technical snag" forced the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to delay the launch of its Chandrayaan-2, the lunar mission launched today. It appears to be back on track, and if all goes well, it will be India's first soft landing on the Moon using its own technology. It will also be the first soft landing attempt ever at the Moon's South Pole.
NASA advances lunar crater modeling and asteroid mining projects
NASA doesn't just want to return to the moon by 2024, it also wants to establish a "sustained human presence" and to use the moon as a hub for future Mars exploration. In order to do that, it will need new ideas and technologies, like those solicited and supported by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. Today, NIAC moved two projects to Phase III, the furthest any concepts have made it.
Israel's Moon probe snaps a final photo before crashing
The Beresheet spacecraft from Israel's SpaceIL was facing long odds to land on the Moon, being the first ever privately launched probe to attempt it. Alas, its engine cut out during the landing attempt, communication was lost, and Beresheet crashed into the surface. Fortunately, just before that happened, the spacecraft turned its camera toward the Moon's horizon and managed to snap a final, sublime photo of its cratered surface.
How the first space tourists will make it back to Earth alive
When SpaceX launches Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his eight traveling companions for a trip around the Moon in 2023, the company will be undertaking an unprecedented step toward the future of civilian space flight. But with being the first to attempt this feat comes a number of technical and safety challenges that less ambitious expeditions, like Blue Origin's treks to the Karman Line, won't have to face. So, just how will SpaceX ensure that its first trip to the Moon doesn't turn into a real-life Gravity?
SpaceX won't take tourists around the moon this year
In February of 2017, SpaceX announced that it would send two private citizens around the moon by this year. While the two individuals paid a "significant" deposit, their trip is apparently postponed until 2019, according to a report at the Wall Street Journal.
Nokia and Vodafone will bring 4G to the Moon
German new-space firm PTScientists has been planning a mission to the Moon for many years now. It has partnered with Audi to produce and deliver two XPrize-winning quattro rovers to the Moon that will explore both the lunar surface and carefully return to the Apollo 17 landing site in 2019. Now the team has partnered with Vodafone and Nokia to create a Moon-based communications network using 4G LTE to bring high-def video of the moon to those of us here on Earth.
Elon Musk proposes using SpaceX's 'BFR' to travel around Earth
A rocket built for traveling throughout our solar system could revolutionize travel on Earth, according to Elon Musk. Using a "BFR" flying at a max speed of 18,000 mph, he says we could fly anywhere on Earth in under an hour. Musk revealed the plan during tonight's speech at the 68th International Astronautical Congress 2017 in Adelaide, Australia, where he also showed SpaceX's plans for lunar and Mars missions. These "Earth to Earth" trips could make "most" long journeys in under half an hour and, according to Musk, have a cost per seat that is "about the same as full fare economy in an aircraft."
Watch Elon Musk reveal 'something special' during Mars talk tonight
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he "Will be announcing something really special at today's talk" and you can watch the live stream on YouTube. Musk is speaking at the 68th International Astronautical Congress 2017 in Adelaide, Australia, where he's going to explain more about his plans to make humanity multi-planetary by colonizing Mars. He recently highlighted an old SpaceX simulation of how its rockets in an Instagram post, and has been posting glamour shots of spacesuits all over social media. The talk kicks off local time Friday at 2:30 PM, or 12:30 AM ET / 9:30 PM PT. Update: Musk just posted this image to Instagram, showing a "Moon Base Alpha" concept, then followed it up with an image of "Mars City." Notably, it's appearing a day after Russia and US space agencies announced plans to team up on an effort, and of course, earlier this year SpaceX said it would send two people on a trip around the moon in late 2018. Surely we'll find out more about more about this plan in just a few hours.
The sun finally sets on China's lunar rover
China's Jade Rover has led a pretty interesting life even by the standards of most devices sent to examine another celestial body. It began its tour of duty on the moon back in 2013, died and was resurrected in 2014 before making a huge discovery in 2015. But now, alas, Xinhua News is reporting that China's State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry has confirmed the droid's second and permanent demise.
Researchers grow crops in simulated Martian and Lunar soil
Researchers from the Dutch Wageningen University and Research Center announced on Tuesday that they had successfully cultivated 10 food crops in soil that simulates what astronauts would encounter both on the Moon and on Mars. The team managed to harvest tomatoes, peas, rye, garden rocket, radish and garden cress -- a much better result than the team's initial experiments in 2015 which saw only a few individual plants even germinate.
ICYMI: Moon waystation, human skin like bananas and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-92297{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-92297, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-92297{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-92297").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: The European Space Agency wants to put a permanent base on the moon, for all agencies to share. A new solar plant in Nevada is the first to store 10 hours of energy in salt, continuing to produce electricity overnight. And researchers are studying bananas because an enzyme in their skin is just like one produced by human skin. Maybe that's why they taste so good? JK, that was just for Hannibal Lecter. We also wanted to bring you this latest Guinness World Record, of an electrified skateboard traveling at 59.5 miles per hour. As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.
