Tag: Moon
-
Moon stamps make a full-moon debut
You can get 10 “Global Forever” moon stamps on a sheet that looks like the night sky looming above a row of trees. © 2016 USPS Now you can moon your mail carrier … not in the scatological sense, but in the philatelic sense. To celebrate tonight’s full moon, the U.S. Postal Service officially released…
-
Apollo 14 moonwalker (and UFO seeker) Edgar Mitchell dies at the age of 85
Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell sits for his official portrait in 1970. Mitchell’s crewmates on the mission in 1971 were Alan Shepard and Stuart Roosa. (Credit: NASA) Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell has died at the age of 85 after a months-long illness, according to reports that emerged on the 45th anniversary of his first moonwalk.…
-
NASA’s giant rocket will carry solar sail, a lunar flashlight and more mini-satellites
An artist’s conception shows Lunar Flashlight flying above a crater on the moon. (Credit: NASA) NASA says it’ll send 13 miniaturized satellites – including a pop-up solar sail and a “lunar flashlight” – beyond Earth orbit when it flies its heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket for the first time in 2018. The main payload for the…
-
UW researchers trace a connection between the moon and the rain
Readings from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, shown in this artist’s conception, provided evidence to support a link between lunar tides and rainfall patterns. (Credit: NASA) When the moon is high in the sky, its gravitational pull warps the atmosphere enough to reduce rainfall ever so slightly. At least that’s the conclusion that researchers from…
-
Moon Express wins thumbs-up from XPRIZE for multimillion-dollar lunar launch
An artist’s conception shows Moon Express’ lander on the way to the lunar surface. (Credit: Moon Express) Moon Express, the lunar exploration venture co-founded by Seattle entrepreneur Naveen Jain, has gotten the “all systems go” signal for its bid to put a robotic lander to the moon and win the Google Lunar XPRIZE. The thumbs-up comes…
-
Moon Express and Rocket Lab make deal for lunar landings in 2017
Moon Express co-founder and CEO Bob Richards shows off a model of the MX-1 lunar lander in 2013. (Credit: Moon Express via YouTube) Moon Express says it has reserved three lunar lander launches from a startup called Rocket Lab starting in 2017, with an eye toward putting robots on the moon’s surface and winning the…
-
Supermoon Sunday! How to make the most of the total lunar eclipse
A total lunar eclipse shines dully over Seattle’s Space Needle in 2008. (Credit: Clane Gessel) Sunday’s super-sized total lunar eclipse is special for a couple of reasons, but it’s extra-special for places like Seattle, where the timing is perfect for family viewing. “I love it when these astronomical events are at a good time,” said…
-
China aims for landing on moon’s far side by 2020
China’s Yutu rover is pictured in this view from the Chang’e 3 landing platform shortly after arriving on the moon in December 2013. Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences/NAOC A rover and landing platform developed as a backup for China’s Chang’e 3 moon mission will be repurposed to attempt the first touchdown on the lunar far…
-
Russian institute plans all-female simulated moon mission for end of 2015
Following from their Mars-500 “long duration” simulation in 2011-2012, the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow, Russia, has announced plans to perform an all-female simulated eight-day lunar circumnavigation mission by the end of 2015. The test and flight simulation project is called “Луна-2015” (Moon-2015). A simulated lunar mission: In early July, the Institute of Biomedical Problems…
-
Watch the moon transit the Earth
Spectacular views from a NOAA space weather observatory show the sunlit far side of the moon crossing the face of the Earth from a distant vantage point a million miles away. The first glimpse of the moon’s transit of Earth from the Deep Space Climate Observatory was released Wednesday by NASA, which runs the Earth-watching…