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Showing posts from September, 2020

Simulations Reveal How Planetary Impacts Affect Atmosphere

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/ames/planetary-impact-simulation s Source:    By Frank Tavares, NASA.  Excerpt: The histories of planets across our solar system and beyond are filled with collisions and transformations. New research is helping scientists understand how colossal impacts, like the one with Earth thought to have formed the Moon, are impacting the atmospheres of rocky planets.In the animation above, a Mars-like mass grazes an Earth-like mass, replicating the traditional theory for the impact that formed the Moon. Some atmosphere is lost, accompanied by a shockwave....    

Moon safe for long-term human exploration, first surface radiation measurements show

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/moon-safe-long-term-human-exploration-first-surface-radiation-measurements-show Source:  By  Adam Mann , Science Magazine.  Excerpt: ...China’s Chang’e 4 lander has made the first detailed measurements of the intense radiation that blasts the lunar surface and found that it’s safe for human exploration. ...The robotic Chang’e 4  made history last year  when it touched down in Von Kármán crater on the Moon’s far side, bringing a suite of instruments along for the ride. One of these was a new dosimeter.... The device measured hourly radiation rates and found that astronauts would be exposed to roughly  200 times the radiation levels  as people on Earth, they report today in Science Advances. The dosimeter’s placement inside the Chang’e 4 probe provides partial shielding, much as an astronaut’s spacesuit would to their body, so the findings are quite applicable to human explorers, Wimmer-Schweingruber says. The measured dose is about five to 10 ti

Scientists spot potential sign of life in Venus atmosphere

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/14/venus-life-evidence/ Source:  By Marisa Iati and Joel Achenbach, The Washington Post.  Excerpt: An international team of astronomers has detected a rare molecule in the atmosphere of Venus that could be produced by living organisms, according to   a study   published Monday. The discovery instantly puts the brightest planet in the night sky back into the conversation about where to search for extraterrestrial life. The researchers made clear this is not a direct detection of life on Venus. But the astronomical observations confirmed the highly intriguing presence of   the chemical phosphine   near the top of the acidic clouds that blanket the planet. Phosphine is a simple molecule produced on Earth by bacteria and through industrial processes. As a result, it is on the list of molecules — oxygen being another — considered by scientists to be potential “biosignatures” of life on Earth-sized planets whose atmospheres can be viewed th

NASA announces it’s looking for companies to help mine the moon

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/10/moon-mining-nasa-search/ Source:  By   Christian Davenport , The Washington Post.  Excerpt: The space agency announced Thursday it is looking for companies to collect rocks and dirt from the lunar surface, and then sell them to NASA, as part of a technology development program that would eventually help astronauts “live off the land.” ...The announcement is yet another step in NASA’s Artemis project to set up a permanent presence on and around the moon and eventually go to Mars, where astronauts would need to be able to use the resources there.     In a blog post,   Bridenstine said the effort would fully comply with the   Outer Space Treaty of 1967 , which says that no country may lay sovereign claim to the moon or other celestial bodies....