moon
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Space & Cosmos
NASA hopes to discover the moon with next-generation retroreflector
The Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector (NGLR-1) is one of 10 payloads scheduled to be installed on the next shipment of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative in 2025. Equipped with retroreflectors, NGLR-1 will be delivered to the Moon. A surface that reflects very short laser pulses from the Lunar Laser Ranging Observatory on Earth. Credit: Firefly Aerospace Apollo astronauts…
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Space & Cosmos
The moon may be older than scientists previously thought. New research sheds light on its history
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Physicists, chemists, and mathematicians walked into the bar. It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but in my case it was the beginning of an idea that could change the way scientists think about the history of the moon. All three of us were interested in the moon, but from different perspectives. As a…
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Biology
Full moon danger: 50% more collisions with wildlife vehicles on moonlit nights
A new Texas A&M study found that wildlife-vehicle collisions increase by 45.8% during full moons. Credit: Rachel Barton and Tanner Konarik/Texas A&M Engineering The moon’s influence on our planet, culture, and society goes beyond influencing the tides. A recent study by Texas A&M University published in the journal Transportation Research Part D shows that collisions with wildlife vehicles increase by…
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Space & Cosmos
What is the best material for a moon tower?
An artist’s depiction of a future moon base. Credit: ESA – P. Carril As both the United States and China prepare for a sustained human presence on the moon, physical infrastructure on the moon will be critical to our long-term presence. Self-deploying towers are increasingly becoming one of the most important parts of physical infrastructure. These towers can carry a…
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Space & Cosmos
NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services to Study the Stars from the Moon with MoonLITE
Diagram showing the MoonLITE setup on the lunar surface. The mission will begin with the lander being delivered by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Landing Services (1), followed by deployment of over 100 meters (328 ft) of fiber umbilical cable (2), and the siderostat station (3). Once instrument calibration is complete, science operations will begin. Credit: van Belle et al. (2024) Optical…
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Space & Cosmos
Mars’ unique shape may be the result of a long-lost moon, according to a new hypothesis.
Mars is being deformed by its putative moon Nerio. Source: arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2408.14725 A U.S. Naval Observatory astronomer has come up with a hypothesis to explain Mars’ unique shape and topography, both of which he suggests are the result of a long-lost moon. Michael Efroymsky has published a paper outlining his hypothesis on the arXiv preprint server. Previous studies…
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