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lunar

SPACE: Many Countries Refusing to Sign Moon Exploration Agreement

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moon base - deposit photos

Eight countries have signed the Artemis Accords, a set of guidelines surrounding the Artemis Program for crewed exploration of the moon. The United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates and the US are now all participants in the project, which aims to return humans to the moon by 2024 and establish a crewed lunar base by 2030. This may sound like progress. Nations have for a number of years struggled with the issue of how to govern a human settlement on the moon and deal with the management of any resources. But a number of key … Read more

SPACE: China Wants to Bring back a Piece of the Moon

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moon - pixabay

A glimpse into China’s readiness to handle samples from the moon reveals steps to be taken for storage, processing and preparation of the specimens. China’s Chang’e 5 robotic moon mission is scheduled to launch later this year. That venture represents the third phase of China’s Chang’e lunar exploration program: returning samples from the moon. The reported candidate landing region for Chang’e 5 is the Rümker region, located in the northern Oceanus Procellarum (“Ocean of Storms”). The area is geologically complex and known for its volcanic activity. The Chang’e 5 mission has four main parts: an orbiter, ascender, lander and Earth … Read more

SPACE: There’s Ice on the Moon!

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Lunar Ice - NASA

Scientists have detected the first-ever evidence of frozen water on the moon, on the darkest and coldest parts of the lunar surface. While prior analysis of the moon hinted at some ice reserves, this is the first time that ice has been observed at the north and south poles ­— and the signs of water ice are “direct and definitive,” according to a new study. Researchers peered at suspected icy patches using an instrument called the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), which used the near-infrared spectrum to pinpoint the signature activity of ice molecules interacting with infrared light. This helped the … Read more