CU-Boulder to build $6 million instrument for NASA lunar orbiter

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jan 10, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

The University of Colorado at Boulder has been awarded a $6 million grant from NASA to build a high-tech lunar dust detector for a 2011 mission to orbit the moon and conduct science investigations of the dusty lunar surface ...

NASA's dirty secret: Moon dust

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 26, 2008 | 4.8 / 5 (28) | 10

The Apollo Moon missions of 1969-1972 all share a dirty secret. "The major issue the Apollo astronauts pointed out was dust, dust, dust," says Professor Larry Taylor, Director of the Planetary Geosciences ...

Moon magic: Researchers develop new tool to visualize past, future lunar eclipses

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jun 08, 2009 | 4 / 5 (2) | 0

Lunar eclipses are well-documented throughout human history. The rare and breathtaking phenomena, which occur when the moon passes into the Earth's shadow and seemingly changes shape, color, or disappears ...

NASA Sets Sights on Lunar Dust Exploration Mission

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Apr 10, 2008 | 1 / 5 (1) | 0

NASA is preparing to send a small spacecraft to the moon in 2011 to assess the lunar atmosphere and the nature of dust lofted above the surface.

Get Ready For Total Lunar Eclipse Wednesday Night

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Feb 19, 2008 | 4.3 / 5 (14) | 0

In the late night hours of Feb. 20, 2008, a total lunar eclipse will dazzle the night sky. And this lunar eclipse may be worth staying up for, because it will be the last one until December 2010.

Discovered after 40 years: Moon dust hazard influenced by Sun's elevation

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Apr 17, 2009 | 4 / 5 (6) | 5

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Apollo Moon Program struggled with a minuscule, yet formidable enemy: sticky lunar dust. Four decades later, a new study reveals that forces compelling lunar dust to cling to surfaces ...

Moon Magic: Researchers Develop New Tool To Visualize Past, Future Lunar Eclipses (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jun 29, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (4) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Lunar eclipses are well-documented throughout human history. The rare and breathtaking phenomena, which occur when the moon passes into the Earth’s shadow and seemingly changes shape, color, ...

Astronaut health on moon may depend on good dusting

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

May 13, 2008 | 4 / 5 (10) | 0

Lunar dust could be more than a housekeeping issue for astronauts who visit the moon. Their good health may depend on the amount of exposure they have to the tiny particles.

China says completes 3D moon map

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 29, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (3) | 1

China has completed a high-resolution, three-dimensional map of the entire surface of the moon, in an important step towards a future lunar landing, an expert involved in the project said Tuesday.

LADEE Mission to Study the Moon's Fragile Atmosphere

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 26, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 1

Right now, the Moon is a ghost town. Nothing stirs. Here and there, an abandoned Apollo rover — or the dusty base of a lunar lander — linger as silent testimony to past human activity. But these days, only ...

A Telescope Made of Moondust

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jul 10, 2008 | 4.3 / 5 (8) | 1

A gigantic telescope on the Moon has been a dream of astronomers since the dawn of the space age. A lunar telescope the same size as Hubble (2.4 meters across) would be a major astronomical research tool. ...

Earth's Magnetic Field - A Hazard For Lunar Astronauts?

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Apr 16, 2007 | 4.6 / 5 (13) | 3

For four days every month the Moon passes through the magnetic field of the Earth and parts of the lunar surface are charged with static electricity. Next week Dr Mike Hapgood of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory ...

Goddard Scientists to Hunt for Treasure and Explore Electric Dust Fountains on the Moon

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Apr 02, 2008 | 4.4 / 5 (9) | 0

With Americans set to return to the moon, this time for much longer expeditions, the pressure is on to make the journeys safer and more affordable. That is the mission of NASA's robotic scout, the Lunar Reconnaissance ...

How the Moon produces its own water

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 15, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (15) | 6

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Moon is a big sponge that absorbs electrically charged particles given out by the Sun. These particles interact with the oxygen present in some dust grains on the lunar surface, producing ...

HiRISE Catches a Dust Devil on Mars

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jul 20, 2007 | 4.5 / 5 (16) | 0

The University of Arizona-based High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) group this week released a good look at a dust devil on Mars. This is not the storm bedeviling NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit ...