Science and technology, explained simply
China’s Queqiao-2 lunar reconnaissance satellite was successfully launched into orbit around the Moon, becoming an important element in preparing for a mission to collect samples from the far side of the Moon. Queqiao-2 was launched on March 8 from the Wenchang Cosmodrome, and on March 24, the spacecraft reached lunar orbit after a 112-hour journey […]
Interlune, a startup founded by former Blue Origin executives and an Apollo 17 astronaut, has ambitious plans to extract natural resources from the Moon and sell them on Earth. The company’s primary goal is helium-3, an isotope of helium found in large quantities on the Moon that can be used in quantum computing, medical imaging, […]
Nikon, together with the NASA space agency, is creating a special camera that will be used by astronauts during the Artemis III mission, which aims to return humans to the moon. The camera is called HULC (Handheld Universal Lunar Camera) and is a modified version of the flagship Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera with Nikkor lenses. […]
The Odysseus spacecraft from Intuitive Machines has successfully landed on the Moon, becoming the first private spacecraft to do so. NASA announced this on Twitter. This is the first American vehicle since the Apollo missions to reach this point. Odysseus carried NASA instruments that will be used to prepare manned missions to the Moon in […]
Ex-executives of the space company Blue Origin decided to engage in commercial activities to extract a rare isotope of helium, helium-3 (He-3), from lunar regolith and created the startup Interlune. According to TechCrunch, Interlune has already raised $15.5 million to develop equipment for helium-3 production on the Moon. However, specific information about the extraction methods […]
SpaceX plans to use its Falcon 9 rocket to send Intuitive Machines’ new Nova-C lander to the moon. The rocket is scheduled to be launched on February 14, at 08:57 Moscow time, from the John F. Kennedy Space Center. JFK in Florida. It will take Nova-C nine days to reach the Moon and attempt a […]
China plans to send two astronauts to the Moon by 2030. At an event titled “Exhibition of Achievements of the Chinese Manned Space Program,” which opened in Shanghai, China showed models of rockets and spacecraft that the country is developing to send its astronauts to the moon, Space writes. The exhibition features the Chang Zheng-10 […]
In a new study, scientists have linked faults located in the moon’s South Polar Region to one of the most powerful lunar earthquakes recorded by Apollo seismometers more than 50 years ago. According to a new study, the Moon is gradually shrinking, leading to a growing number of landslides that could endanger future astronauts. The […]
The Japanese space agency JAXA has announced the details of the SLIM module’s landing on the Moon. The landing went smoothly, but as a result, the vehicle overturned. Apparently, at an altitude of 50 meters, while performing an obstacle avoidance maneuver, the thrust of one of the module’s two main engines disappeared, leading to an […]
Two small lunar rovers called LEV1 and LEV2, which Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) managed to free before the landing, took pictures of the inverted lander and transmitted them to Earth. According to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV2) lunar rover, which is shaped like a ball, […]