South pole expedition

Early this morning, a small NASA spacecraft about the size of a microwave embarked on the beginning of a four-month-long journey to the Moon , where it will eventually insert itself into a unique, elongated lunar orbit that no NASA mission has visited before. The spacecraft’s goal is simple: test out this particular orbit and see what it’s like. That’s because it’s the same orbit that lunar-bound astronauts could use in the coming decade. This distinctive orbit is called “near rectilinear halo orbit,” or NRHO for short. It’s a special seven-day path that spacecraft can take around the Moon, bringing vehicles relatively close to the lunar surface for one day before they swing out far from the Moon for the other six. NASA is considering leveraging this orbit for its Artemis program — the agency’s effort to send the first woman and the first person of color to the surface of the Moon. Over the next decade, NASA wants to build a new space station around the Moon called the Gateway, a … [Read more...] about A tiny NASA spacecraft launches to test out a new orbit around the Moon

When you think of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk , chances are high that you think of his electric car company Tesla , his space exploration venture SpaceX , or his bid to take control of Twitter . Perhaps it's his history of stirring up controversy on social media or smoking weed with Joe Rogan that comes to mind. Maybe you just know him as one of the richest people on Earth . Something you might be less familiar with is Starlink , a venture from Musk that aims to sell internet connections to almost anyone on the planet by way of a growing network of private satellites orbiting overhead. After years of development within SpaceX -- and after securing nearly $885.5 million in grant funds from the Federal Communications Commission at the end of 2020 -- Starlink picked up the pace in 2021. In January, after three years' worth of successful launches, the project had surpassed 1,000 satellites delivered into orbit. One year and dozens of successful … [Read more...] about Starlink Explained: Everything to Know About Elon Musk’s Satellite Internet Venture

China might be contemplating a "takeover" of the Moon as part of its military space program, Nasa 's administrator Bill Nelson has told newspaper Bild. In an interview, Nelson claimed that the United States is now involved in a new race to space, with China this time. He emphasised that in 2035, Beijing might finish construction of its own Moon station and start experiments a year later. Nelson claimed that we must be very concerned about China landing on the Moon and saying that it now belongs to the Peoples' Republic and everyone else should stay out, RT reported. Claiming that China's space program is a "military" space program, Nelson explained that the competition for the south pole of the moon is especially intense: potential water deposits there could be used in the future for rocket-fuel production. When asked by Bild what military purposes could China be pursuing in space, Nelson claimed that Chinese astronauts are busy learning how to … [Read more...] about moon: China might be contemplating a ‘takeover’ of the Moon, says Nasa administrator

The so-called Antikythera mechanism , recovered from the wreckage of an ancient cargo ship off the coast of Antikythera Island in Greece, might be the world's oldest analog computer. The mystery surrounding its purpose and origin continues to fascinate scientists and enthusiasts alike to this day. But it's not the only treasure salvaged from that Antikythera wreck . An ongoing underwater archaeological project most recently recovered a large marble head of a bearded male figure believed to be part of a statue of Hercules. Divers also recovered a marble plinth with the lower legs of another statue, two human teeth, and several pieces of the cargo ship's equipment. As we've previously reported , in 1900, a Greek sponge diver named Elias Stadiatis discovered the wreck , which was apparently surrounded by rotting corpses on the sea floor. The captain, Dimitrios Kondos, didn't believe Elias at first and thought the nitrogen in his breathing mix had affected the diver's senses. … [Read more...] about Divers recovered giant head of Hercules from Antikythera shipwreck in Greece