Back in 2019, the European Space Agency (ESA) asked for ideas for detecting, mapping, and exploring lunar caves. The ESA selected five of those ideas to be studied in more detail, with each addressing a different phase of a potential mission to the moon for exploring lunar caves. There were five Sysnova studies, and three mission scenarios were developed.
China has been operating a rover, the first to explore the moon's far side, known as Yutu 2. The rover arrived at the moon attached to the Chang'e 4 lander. Yutu 2 resumed its exploration activities on February 6 after being forced to hibernate during the extremely cold lunar night. The rover has made an interesting discovery on the moon's surface that Chinese scientists call a milestone.
One of the most impressive eras in space exploration happened decades ago when NASA conducted the Apollo missions sending humans to the moon for the first time. NASA fans might not know that as part of the Apollo 14 mission with Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell, a third astronaut, Stuart Roosa, stayed above the moon in a command module and had hundreds of tree seeds amongst his personal things.
One of the iconic events that happened during the NASA Apollo era occurred 50 years ago this week. On the Apollo 14 moon mission, astronaut Alan Shepard pulled out two golf balls and a golf club on the moon's surface. The first ball he hit wound up in a crater, and Shepard said that the second shot was smashed for "miles and miles and miles." While many golfers are prone to bragging, scientists say that Shepard could have hit a ball that far when he smashed it with his club on February 6, 1971.
Although it's not exactly clear if NASA will hit its 2024 timeline for returning humans to the moon under the new presidential administration, NASA is moving forward with technologies required for the moon mission. NASA has announced that it has awarded Firefly Aerospace approximately $93.3 million to deliver a suite of 10 science investigations and technology demonstrations to the moon in 2023. The mission will deliver the technology to Mare Crisium, a low highflying basin on the Moon's nearside.
Last week NASA delayed its plans to award a pair of crewed lunar Lander contracts that were to be awarded under the Trump administration timeline to get to the moon in 2024. The delay comes after a funding cut from Congress, and the Biden administration changes its focus to other issues. Last year, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics were granted a combined $967 million in funding to develop concepts for a human lunar landing system.
One of the biggest challenges to equipment and astronauts living and working on the moon is dealing with moon dust. NASA reached out to university students around the country to help solve the problem of lunar dust in preparation for building sustainable human exploration on the moon. The competitive Breakthrough, Innovative, and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge and the Space Grant project saw NASA award nearly $1 million to seven university teams.
This week the alignment of our planet Earth, our moon, and our nearby Sun, created a Full Moon we call a "Wolf Moon." This is just the first in a line of full moons that'll appear to us humans over the next 11 months, and we've got the lot listed. In the mix are the Snow Moon, Worm Moon, Pink Moon, Flower Moon, and the Strawberry Moon. That one's not about Prince, but it might as well be - after that is the Buck Moon, Sturgeon Moon, Harvest Moon, Hunter's Moon, Beaver Moon, and in December we'll see the Cold Moon!
Before humans stepped on the moon's surface, it was thought to be dry as a desert. Since the Apollo era, scientists have discovered that water does exist on the moon in the form of ice in craters that exist in eternal shadow. Water is also found in volcanic rocks, and there are unexpected rusty iron soil deposits in the lunar soil. There still has been no true confirmation of the extent or origin of lunar surface water.
People have long thought the moon had an impact on moods, disasters, and accidents. Many would blame the moon for increased fighting or strange behavior in people. A new study from the University of Washington has been published that found the moon can also impact sleep. The researchers from the University of Washington worked with scientists from the National University of Quilmes in Argentina and Yale University to investigate sleep cycles in humans.
A hunk of the moon was delivered to the Biden administration on January 20, 2021. At the request of the President of the United States, NASA delivered a container with a sample of the lunar surface for display in the Oval Office. This piece of our nearest space neighbor now sits in the most important office in the world, in the White House, "in symbolic recognition of earlier generations’ ambitions and accomplishments, and support for America’s current Moon to Mars exploration approach."
NASA has announced that the Orion spacecraft used for the Artemis I mission has completed its time in the Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building. The spaceship was hoisted from the stand in that building where it was outfitted with components, and systems were tested to ensure it was mission ready. With assembly complete, the spacecraft has been moved to the NASA Exploration Ground Systems team responsible for processing the Orion spacecraft for its launch later this year.