Tag: Moon
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Canada to become second nation ever to send people to the Moon
To date, only Americans have travelled to the Moon. On Artemis 2, that will change when the Canadian Space Agency sends one of its four astronauts on the first-ever crewed flight of NASA’s Orion capsule and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on a near two week test flight around the Moon. The as yet…
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Chinese sample return capsule lands on Earth after round-trip flight to moon
The Chang’e 5 sample return capsule landed in China’s Inner Mongolia region Wednesday. Credit: CNSA A capsule containing moon rocks landed in a remote, snow-covered corner of China Wednesday, bringing home the first samples from the lunar surface in 44 years and completing the Chinese space program’s most challenging robotic mission to date. The return…
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Chinese spacecraft heading back to Earth with lunar samples
Illustration of the Chang’e 5 mission’s remaining trajectory toward Earth, colored green, and the mission’s previous path around the moon, in red. Credit: CNSA A Chinese spacecraft ferrying rocks drilled from the moon’s surface is on course to land back on Earth Wednesday and deliver the first fresh lunar samples to scientists since the 1970s.…
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Blue Origin’s team turns in its moon landing proposal — and provides a sneak peek
An artist’s conception shows the three main elements of the human landing system being proposed by a team led by Blue Origin. Northrop Grumman’s transfer element is at left, Blue Origin’s descent element is in the middle, and Lockheed Martin’s ascent element is at right. (Blue Origin Illustration) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin venture…
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Two Washington state women join ‘Artemis Team’ to go on NASA’s moon missions
Artemis astronauts Kayla Barron and Anne McClain have roots in Washington state. (NASA Photos) NASA today named the first 18 astronauts of its “Artemis Team” for missions to the moon — and two of the teammates trace their roots to Washington state. One of the pair, Anne McClain, was born in Spokane and went on…
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Chinese mission accomplishes first-ever robotic docking in lunar orbit
Chang’e 5’s ascender spacecraft approaches the mission’s return vehicle in lunar orbit. Credit: CNSA The Chinese Chang’e 5 mission accomplished the first robotic docking between two spacecraft orbiting the moon Saturday, when a lunar ascent spacecraft linked up with an Earth return vehicle and transferred a container of moon rocks to bring home in mid-December.…
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Jeff Bezos shows off Blue Origin’s BE-7 engine — and makes a bold prediction
Blue Origin’s BE-7 rocket engine goes through a test firing. (Blue Origin Photo) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos heralded progress on the development of the rocket engine that’s destined for use on the lunar lander that his Blue Origin space venture is building — but he also offered a glimpse into his crystal ball for future…
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NASA agrees to purchase moon rocks for $1 in a deal that may involve Blue Origin
An artist’s conception shows the uncrewed cargo version of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lunar lander. (Blue Origin Illustration) NASA has selected four companies to collect material on the moon and store it up as the space agency’s property, for a total price of $25,001. And one deal stands out: a $1 purchase that may rely…
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China’s Chang’e 5 sample return craft takes off from the moon
The Chang’e 5 ascender spacecraft lifts off from the moon in this view from an upward-facing camera on the mission’s descent stage, which remained on the moon’s surface. Credit: CNSA Wrapping up a busy two days on the lunar surface, a Chinese spacecraft carrying moon soil took off from a makeshift launch pad and fired…
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Chinese probe completes sample collection work on lunar surface
This image from a panorama taken by the Chang’e 5 sample return lander shows one of the spacecraft’s landing legs on the lunar surface. Credit: CNSA Chinese officials said the Chang’e 5 mission finished drilling and scooping samples from a lunar lava plain late Wednesday, hours before the spacecraft’s robotic ascender was due to take…