NASA’s return to the Moon coincides with explosive growth in exoplanet discovery. Missions are being formulated to search for habitable planets orbiting other stars, making this the ideal time to […]
Moon
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Astrochemistry: Prospectivity Modeling of the NASA VIPER Landing Site at Mons Mouton near the Lunar South Pole
We use a high-resolution digital elevation model and a numerical thermal model to produce a variety of inputs for a water-ice prospectivity model for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Mars, Moon, Status Report
Earth’s Composition: Origin, Evolution and Energy Budget
One in every two atoms in the Earth, Mars, and the Moon is oxygen; it is the third most abundant element in the solar system.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Interstellar, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Moon, Status Report
Polycyclic Aromatics In The Chang’E 5 Lunar Soils
Polycyclic aromatics are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium and meteorites, yet the search for lunar polycyclic aromatics remains a significant challenge.
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Testing Away Team Tools For The Moon And Beyond
Bathed in realistic lighting, this was the first rehearsal to try out the ergonomics of scientific tools to study the mineralogical and chemical composition of regolith – the dust, soil […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Moon, Press Release, Space Weather & Heliophysics
The Solar Wind Can Apparently Make Water On The Lunar Surface
Scientists have hypothesized since the 1960s that the Sun is a source of ingredients that form water on the Moon. When a stream of charged particles known as the solar […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Moon, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Water Abundance In The Mantle Of The Moon’s Farside
The water contents of the lunar interior record important clues for understanding the formation and subsequent thermochemical evolution of the Moon.
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Moon, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report
A Microbial Survival Model For The permanently Shadowed Regions Of The Moon Shows Long-Term Survival of Terrestrial Microbe Forward Contamination
Based on previous models of microbial survival there are regions in the solar system which have high preservation potential for terrestrial spore-forming microbes such as Bacillus subtilis.
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Missions & Hardware, Moon, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report
Results from NASA’s First Radio Telescope on the Moon: Terrestrial Technosignatures and the Low-Frequency Galactic Background Observed by ROLSES-1 Onboard the Odysseus Lander
Radiowave Observations on the Lunar Surface of the photo-Electron Sheath instrument (ROLSES- 1) onboard the Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lunar lander represents NASA’s first radio telescope on the Moon, and the […]
Posted inLife Support Systems, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Status Report
Developing An Alternative Medium For In-space Biomanufacturing
In this process, in-situ resources (e.g., Lunar and Martian regolith), end-of-life materials (e.g., PET plastic), and human waste (e.g., astronaut fecal waste) can be converted into metabolizable substrates to feed […]