Tag: Moon
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China reveals lunar lander, launches satellites, and conducts a spacewalk
China has stayed busy over the last week, launching a new set of Tianhui-6 satellites into space while detailing plans for their first lunar missions in 2030. Furthermore, a new change could impact the Chang Zheng 5B rocket and reduce the chances of an uncontrolled reentry. Finally, an EVA was conducted on the Tiangong Space…
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Fictional plans for building a space station beyond the moon reflect Jeff Bezos’ vision
“Critical Mass” traces the construction of a huge space station just beyond the moon. (Illustration for Dutton / Penguin Random House) If Jeff Bezos needs a blueprint for building a space station beyond the moon with ore from an asteroid, he just might want to start with “Critical Mass,” a newly published sci-fi novel by Daniel Suarez. The…
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Blue Origin talks up technology that could eventually turn moon dirt into solar cells
Blue Origin says coin-sized solar cells like this one could be made from lunar material. (Blue Origin Photo) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture isn’t just working on rockets and space stations: The Kent, Wash.-based company is also developing a technology that could someday transform the moon’s soil into materials for electricity-producing solar cells and…
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SpaceX launches Falcon 9 carrying private Japanese moon lander
SpaceX has used its Falcon 9 rocket to send a privately funded mission toward the surface of the moon. After a series of delays, HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) at 2:38 AM EST (07:38 UTC) on Dec. 11. An initial launch…
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NASA’s Orion spacecraft zooms around the moon and sets a course for splashdown
A crescent Earth looms above the lunar horizon in an image captured by NASA’s Orion spacecraft (seen in the left foreground). The reddish dot and the rays of light are camera artifacts. (NASA / ESA Photo) NASA’s Orion capsule fired its main engine for three and a half minutes today during a close approach to…
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Orion capsule watches the moon eclipse Earth at farthest point of Artemis odyssey
A camera on NASA’s Orion capsule catches sight of the moon covering part of Earth’s disk. (NASA / ESA Photo) Halfway into its 25.5-day uncrewed Artemis 1 mission, NASA’s Orion capsule today recorded a weird kind of Earth-moon eclipse, reached its farthest distance from our planet and began the complicated trek back home. NASA Administrator…
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NASA’s Orion capsule goes into a far-out orbit around the moon, setting a record
A Flight Day 9 view from the Orion spacecraft shows Earth in the distance. (NASA / ESA) NASA’s uncrewed Orion capsule successfully executed an engine burn to enter an unusual type of orbit around the moon on the 10th day of the weeks-long Artemis 1 mission, and it set a distance record on the 11th…
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NASA’s Orion capsule circles the moon, capturing views that’ll make you feel giddy
A view captured by a camera on one of Orion’s solar array wings shows Earth setting beneath the moon’s horizon. A portion of the Orion capsule is in the foreground at left. (NASA Photo) NASA’s Orion capsule rounded the moon today, marking a crucial milestone in a weeks-long Artemis 1 mission that’s preparing the way…
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Third time’s the charm: NASA launches SLS mega rocket on Artemis 1 moon trip
NASA’s Space Launch System rises from its Kennedy Space Center launch pad. (NASA Photo / Joel Kowsky) NASA succeeded spectacularly in the third attempt to launch its Space Launch System rocket on an uncrewed round-the-moon mission that’s meant to blaze a trail for future Artemis lunar landings. Artemis 1’s liftoff from Launch Complex 39B at…
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NASA decides to roll its moon rocket back to shelter as Hurricane Ian nears Florida
NASA’s Space Launch System returns to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Sept. 27. (NASA Photo) With Hurricane Ian bearing down on the Florida coast, NASA has decided to move its multibillion-dollar Space Launch System moon rocket to safety. For days, NASA and weather forecasters had been watching the storm take shape in the Caribbean Sea,…