Science News
China’s Lunar Rock Samples Show Lava Flowed On Moon
China's Chang'e-5 mission revealed that the moon's surface oozed lava, some 2 billion years ago. A chemical analysis of the volcanic rocks confirmed that the moon remained volcanically active much more longer than its size would suggest possible. However, scientists did not find any radio active decay which are usually present in volcanism. "Young volcanism on a small body like moon is challenging to explain," said planetary scientist Juliane… read-more
Tags: moon, China, Lunar Mission, China Space Program
Courtesy: Science News
Photo: Fox Business
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Sues NASA Over SpaceX Moon Contract
Amazon chairman and billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned space company Blue Origin has filed a lawsuit in US federal court against NASA over its decision to give the $2.9 billion lunar moon lander contract to its rival Elon Musk's SpaceX. "This bid protest challenges NASA's unlawful and improper evaluation of proposals," Blue Origin's lawyer said. NASA earlier selected SpaceX as the sole provider for the Human Landing System for the spaceflight… read-more
Tags: NASA, BLUE ORIGIN, SpaceX, Jeff Bezos, Lunar Mission
Courtesy: CNet
Photo: Entrepreneur
Opportunity To Join Moon Mission 2023; Completely Funded By Japanese Billionaire
The Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has announced a contest to select eight eligible SpaceX 'Starship' passengers globally for his Dear Moon 2023 mission. Releasing a YouTube video, Maezawa shared the criteria which is to "push its envelope to help other people and greater society in some way" and "willing to support other crew members who share similar aspirations." Moreover, Maezawa clarified that the six-day lunar voyage will be… read-more
Tags: SpaceX, Starship, Lunar Mission, Dear Moon Project, Yusaku Maezawa
Courtesy: The Verge
Photo: Silicon Republic
China Hoists Its Flag on Moon, Becomes Only Second Country After US
China has become the world's second nation to hoist its flag on the lunar surface. It achieved the feat on December 4 during its on-going Chang’e 5’s space expedition to retrieve rock samples from the Moon. The Chinese unmanned mission has collected four pound of rock samples and has made a lift-off for return. The US’ Apollo 11 mission in 1969 was the first to plant any national flag on Moon.
Tags: China, Chang'e 5, U.S.A, Apollo 11, Lunar Mission
Courtesy: NY Post
Photo:NPR
NASA To Pay $1 To Lunar Outpost For Collecting Moon Samples
NASA will pay Colorado-based Lunar Outpost company a nominal $1 to collect samples from the moon. The decision has been taken after the Lunar Outpost was awarded a contract to collect samples under the low-cost lunar resource collection program held by NASA. With this, NASA aims to allow the companies to practice and extract resources from the moon. Interestingly, NASA has stated that payments will be made in three stages.
Tags: NASA, Mining on Moon, business, Lunar Mission, Lunar Resource Collection
Courtesy: BBC News
Photo: Daily Mail
UAE to Launch First Ever Moon Mission in 2024 For Scientific Study
The United Arab Emirates is set to launch lunar rover named ‘Rashid’, the first ever Arab Moon mission in 2024. The rover has named after late Sheikh Rashid, for his vision of Dubai. The mission is meant for scientific study and better understanding of the moon. There will be a range of scientific instruments on the Lunar mission, including two high-resolution optical cameras. Earlier in July, UAE had launched its Mars Mission from Japan.
Tags: new launch, UAE, Lunar Mission
Courtesy: India Today