On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin stepped out a lunar lander onto the surface of the moon. The landscape in front of him, which was made up of stark blacks and grays, resembled what he later called “magnificent desolation.” Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-humans-mars.html…
Tag: Lunar Lander
Recovering Samples From the Moon, China’s Chang’e-5 Team Used Exoskeletons
AmiMoJo quotes Universe Today: Other worlds aren’t the only difficult terrain personnel will have to traverse in humanity’s exploration of the solar system. There are some parts of our own planet that are inhospitable and hard to travel over. Inner Mongolia, a northern province of China, would certainly classify as one of those areas, especially in winter. But that’s exactly the…
China plants its flag on the moon with Chang’e 5 lunar lander (photo, video)
China now has a real flag flying on the moon. Source: https://www.livescience.com/china-flag-on-moon-chang-e-5-lunar-landing.html
Jeff Bezos Shares Blue Origin Engine Test Footage
Friday on Instagram Jeff Bezos shared footage from NASA’s test of Blue Origin’s BE-7 engine, which he described approvingly as “a high-performance, additively manufactured liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen lunar landing engine with 10,000 lbf [pound-force] of thrust — deep throttling down to 2,000 lbf for a precise landing on the Moon.” The test brings the program’s cumulative test time up to 1,245…
NASA, human lunar lander companies complete key Artemis milestone
NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) Program recently checked off a key milestone in its progress toward landing the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The HLS Program conducted Certification Baseline Reviews (CBR) with the three U.S. companies competing to provide landers that will deliver Artemis astronauts to the Moon. These virtual meetings were the culmination of…
Asteroid or space junk? Approaching object might become Earth’s mini-moon
A newly discovered “asteroid” may become a new mini-moon for Earth. Instead of an ordinary asteroid, it might be a lost rocket from the Surveyor 2 mission, launched from Earth more than 50 years ago. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/2020-so-mini-moon-asteroid-or-space-junk…
Simulations show lander exhaust could cloud studies of lunar ices
A new study led by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, shows that exhaust from a mid-sized lunar lander can quickly spread around the Moon and potentially contaminate scientifically vital ices at the lunar poles. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-simulations-lander-exhaust-cloud-lunar.html…
How will astronauts poop on the moon? New NASA challenge calls for innovative ideas.
In a new contest, NASA is calling on innovators from around the world to develop a new space toilet that would work not just in microgravity such as aboard the International Space Station, but also in lunar gravity aboard a future lunar lander. Source: https://www.livescience.com/nasa-moon-toilet-design-challenge.html
Firms compete to build next-gen lunar lander
Blue Origin, SpaceX and Dynetics are each working on their own solutions to landing humans on the Moon. NASA doesn’t seem to be letting the coronaviru… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/336740/firms-compete-to-build-next-gen-lunar-lander…
Small robots practice scouting skills for future moon mission
The upgraded Autonomous Pop-Up Flat Folding Explorer Robot, or A-PUFFER, is on a roll. The technology could find itself on a commercial lunar lander in the next few years. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-03-small-robots-scouting-skills-future.html…