Tag: Moon
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Chinese data relay satellite nears post over far side of the moon
Artist’s illustration of the Queqiao spacecraft. Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. A Chinese communications satellite carrying a Dutch radio astronomy instrument launched last month is expected to maneuver into position around a gravitationally-stable point beyond the moon in the coming days, ready to relay telemetry and data between Earth and the Chang’e 4…
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Blue Origin gets in on NASA studies for resource utilization on moon and Mars
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander on the lunar surface. (Blue Origin Illustration) Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is among 10 teams that will share about $10 million in NASA funding to look into techniques for using resources from the moon and Mars. The studies are aimed at advancing…
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Jeff Bezos: ‘We will have to leave this planet … and it’s going to make this planet better’
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, discusses his vision for space settlement with GeekWire’s Alan Boyle at the International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles. (Keith Zacharski / In The Barrel Photo) LOS ANGELES – Deep thinkers have been saying for generations that we have to get off this rock and head for the…
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Astronaut Alan Bean, Apollo 12’s artistic moonwalker, dies at 86 after sudden illness
Astronaut Alan Bean poses for a portrait in front of a mockup of NASA’s lunar module in advance of his Apollo 12 moon mission in 1969. (NASA Photo) Artist-astronaut Alan Bean, the moonwalker who saw himself as different from the rest, died today at the age of 86 at Houston Medical Hospital. Bean’s death followed…
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Jeff Bezos and his Blue Origin space venture go all in on moon settlements
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander on the lunar surface. (Blue Origin Illustration) LOS ANGELES — Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos says his Blue Origin space venture will work with NASA as well as the European Space Agency to create a settlement on the moon. RELATED: Full text and podcast of Jeff Bezos’ remarks this…
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Five ‘Martian’ miscues to fix in space flicks
Astronaut Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) climbs through a hatch in his pressurized rover in a scene from “The Martian.” (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.) LOS ANGELES — Planetary scientist Pascal Lee could give astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson a good run for his money when it comes to truth-squadding movie depictions of space missions.…
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‘The Expanse’ is saved: Jeff Bezos says Amazon will pick up sci-fi TV saga, and the crowd goes wild
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, gestures to the crowd at a National Space Society awards banquet during a fireside chat with GeekWire’s Alan Boyle. (Keith Zacharski / In The Barrel Photo) LOS ANGELES — I wanted to start out talking with Jeff Bezos tonight about his vision for settling outer space, but…
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President Trump signs off on directive to deregulate commercial space ventures
President Donald Trump holds up Space Policy Directive 2 in the Oval Office, with Vice President Mike Pence at left. Standing at right are Scott Pace, executive secretary of the National Space Council; and Jared Stout, the council’s deputy executive secretary and chief of staff. (White House Photo / Shealah Craighead) President Donald Trump has…
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Queqiao takes flight: China launches Chang’e-4 relay satellite to moon’s far side
News Brief: China today launched a satellite that will serve as the communications relay for a future probe on the moon’s far side. The satellite, dubbed Queqiao (Chinese for “Magpie Bridge”), lifted off from the Xichang Launch Center in southwest China atop a Long March 4C rocket at 5:28 a.m. local time Monday (2:28 p.m.…
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Arch Mission teams up with Astrobotic to send Wikipedia and more to the moon
The Lunar Library will be stored as microfiche images etched on stamp-sized squares of nickel. A dime is set among the squares to provide a sense of scale. (Arch Mission Foundation Photo) The Arch Mission Foundation is partnering with Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic to have a miniaturized library sent to the moon’s surface aboard a lunar lander…