Carl Sagan wrote, “We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still. We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars.” But how will humans or our machine representatives
fly to the stars? [more inside]
posted by audi alteram partem
on May 1, 2012 -
42 comments
The Carnegie Institution for Science reports "a much higher water content in the Moon’s interior than previous studies." For decades, the moon's water content was estimated at less than 1 part per billion; the new estimates range from 64 ppb to 5 parts per million. A scientist at Washington University said, "We can now finally begin to consider the implications—and the origin—of water in the interior of the Moon.”
There's more at
NASA and the
BBC, and the full paper is available at
PNAS (PDF).
posted by Stan Carey
on Jun 15, 2010 -
21 comments
On October 9th, NASA spacecraft will run into the moon, and on purpose. The
Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (
LCROSS) and its rocket's
Centaur upper stage will impact the moon, with the goal of sending some of the (possibly present) ice above the lunar surface. Once out of the eternal shade of the moon's south pole, sunlight will break the ice up into H+ and OH- molecules, which can be detected by the
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (
LRO). The
initial impact site was the crater Cabeus A, but the target was
later changed to Cabeus (proper), selected for highest hydrogen concentrations with the greatest level of certainty, and for the high-contrast back drop to detect ejecta and vapor measurements. NASA has provided
guides for amateur observations of the impact,
a facebook group, and
a Twitter feed so you don't miss the moment.
posted by filthy light thief
on Oct 8, 2009 -
53 comments
Instead of liquid water,
Titan has liquid methane. Instead of silicate rocks, Titan has frozen water ice. Instead of dirt, Titan has hydrocarbon particles settling out of the atmosphere, and instead of lava, Titanian volcanoes spew very cold ice.
posted by Pretty_Generic
on Jan 21, 2005 -
28 comments
An Elevator to the Stars. The paper of record claims this isn't science fiction, but do we really believe that in ten years we'll be able to build a 60,000 mile long cable capable of supporting 13 ton cargo loads? Would you trust this to take you into asynchronous orbit? (Or maybe you just want to make like Joe Kittinger and
jump out at 100,000 feet.)
posted by alms
on Sep 23, 2003 -
24 comments
