Tag: Moon
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A virtual marketplace for a future Moon Village? The FAA just might make it happen
An artist’s conception shows a permanent lunar base that’s part of the European Space Agency’s “Moon Village” vision. (Credit: ESA) GUADALAJARA, Mexico – If the world wants to create a village on the moon, the Federal Aviation Administration is willing to start up an online trading post for lunar services. George Nield, the FAA’s associate administrator for commercial…
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China’s Yutu rover dies on the moon
A camera aboard the Chang’e 3 lander captured this view of the Yutu rover in December 2013. Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences/NAOC/Science and Application Center for Moon and Deepspace Exploration A Chinese rover sent to the moon in 2013 has stopped operating, officials announced Wednesday, ending a groundbreaking 31-month mission that made discoveries in lunar…
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Moon Express wins a green light from U.S. government for its lunar mission
An artist’s conception shows the Moon Express MX-1 lander in lunar orbit. (Credit: Moon Express) BELLEVUE, Wash. – Moon Express says it has received preliminary clearance for the robotic lander that it plans to send to the moon next year, after a voluntary payload review involving the Federal Aviation Administration and other federal agencies. The clearance…
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Apollo 11 anniversary adds to the appetite for space artifacts – and moon visions
A photograph of Buzz Aldrin on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission, signed by the astronaut himself, is among the hundreds of items offered at a space-themed auction this week. The print is expected to sell for $2,500 to $3,500. (Credit: NASA via Bonhams) Forty-seven years ago this week, NASA’s Apollo 11 mission put humans…
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White House works out a process to clear commercial missions to moon and Mars
An artist’s conception shows Moon Express’ MX-1 lander extending its robotic arm to take a “selfie” of the spacecraft on the lunar surface with Earth in the background. (Credit: Moon Express) After months of discussion, federal agencies are closing in on a process to approve commercial missions to other celestial bodies – including the moon, Mars…
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Orbital ATK unveils cislunar habitat plan, potential missions for SLS and Orion
Orbital ATK has unveiled preliminary plans to place a four-person habitat in cislunar space by 2020. The announcement during testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Space would not only see the creation of a permanent human presence in lunar orbit by the start of the next decade, but would potentially provide a…
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Orbital ATK unveils cislunar habitat plan, potential missions for SLS and Orion
Orbital ATK has unveiled preliminary plans to place a four-person habitat in cislunar space by 2020. The announcement during testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Space would not only see the creation of a permanent human presence in lunar orbit by the start of the next decade, but would potentially provide a…
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Moon Village vs. Journey to Mars: Which space vision will the next president pick?
An artist’s conception shows a permanent lunar base that’s part of the European Space Agency’s “Moon Village” vision. (Credit: ESA) COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Over the past eight years, the focus of NASA’s space vision has shifted from the moon, to a near-Earth asteroid, to the journey to Mars. The European Space Agency’s director-general, meanwhile,…
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Moon Express asks FAA to review its plans for Google Lunar X Prize landing in 2017
An artist’s conception shows the Moon Express MX-1 spacecraft orbiting the moon in preparation for landing. (Credit: Moon Express) Moon Express, the lunar exploration venture backed by Seattle tech entrepreneur Naveen Jain, says it’s asking the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a payload review of its spacecraft and plans for a mission to the moon…
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Apollo 10’s moon music mystery revisited
Apollo 10’s Gene Cernan, Tom Stafford and John Young sit for their official portrait. (Credit: NASA) Where did the weird, outer-spacey music that Apollo 10’s astronauts heard on the far side of the moon come from? The case was solved decades ago. Or was it??? “NASA’s Unexplained Files,” airing on the Science Channel, leaves the mystery hanging…