Latest news with #SpaceXFalcon
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Nasa releases first high-def images of sunset on the moon
Nasa has released the first high-definition images of a sunset on the moon, two striking photographs taken by the private lander Blue Ghost that could offer scientists further clues to the mysterious phenomenon known as lunar horizon glow. The agency presented the images to a press conference on Tuesday at Houston's Johnson space center, marking the conclusion of a 14-day mission conducted in partnership with Texas company Firefly Aerospace. The commercial lander, which touched down on 2 March near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the moon's north-eastern near side, is part of a $2.6bn investment by Nasa in commercial payload operators aiming to cut costs and support Artemis, the program scheduled to return humans to the moon in 2027. The two images, taken to the west and with Earth and Venus also visible, show the spread of the glow along moon's horizon as the sun appears about halfway set. 'These are the first high-definition images taken of the sun going down and then going into darkness at the horizon,' said Joel Kearns, Nasa's deputy associate administrator for exploration, science mission directorate. 'The images themselves are beautiful, they're really aesthetic, but I know there are a bunch of folks looking at them now that study the moon … Now its time for the specialists in the field to examine it and compare it to the other data we have from the mission and see what conclusions they can propose and draw from.' Lunar horizon glow was first documented by the astronaut Eugene Cernan, one of the last two men to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Subsequent observations concluded that the phenomenon was due to tiny dust particles in the moon's thin atmosphere glowing at lunar sunrise and sunset, while some theories suggest the particles levitated. Blue Ghost also captured high-definition imagery of a total eclipse on 14 March, when the Earth blocked the sun from the moon's horizon. A SpaceX Falcon rocket launched the lander, which is about the size of a hippopotamus, on a 2.8-mile journey on 15 January. Blue Ghost was carrying an array of scientific experiments, including a lunar soil analyzer, a radiation-tolerant computer and an experiment testing the feasibility of using the existing global satellite navigation system to navigate the moon. 'Firefly Aerospace is extremely proud to have accomplished this first fully successful commercial moon landing,' Jason Kim, the company's chief executive, said. 'I truly believe Firefly and Blue Ghost's historic mission will be a new chapter in textbooks and become a beacon of what humanity can achieve.' A separate mission by a private company to land a spacecraft carrying scientific equipment on the moon ended in failure earlier this month when the Athena probe launched by Intuitive Machines toppled upon landing and was declared dead.
The Guardian
18-03-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Nasa releases first high-def images of sunset on the moon
Nasa has released the first high-definition images of a sunset on the moon, two striking photographs taken by the private lander Blue Ghost that could offer scientists further clues to the mysterious phenomenon known as lunar horizon glow. The agency presented the images to a press conference on Tuesday at Houston's Johnson space center, marking the conclusion of a 14-day mission conducted in partnership with Texas company Firefly Aerospace. The commercial lander, which touched down on 2 March near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the moon's north-eastern near side, is part of a $2.6bn investment by Nasa in commercial payload operators aiming to cut costs and support Artemis, the program scheduled to return humans to the moon in 2027. The two images, taken to the west and with Earth and Venus also visible, show the spread of the glow along moon's horizon as the sun appears about halfway set. 'These are the first high-definition images taken of the sun going down and then going into darkness at the horizon,' said Joel Kearns, Nasa's deputy associate administrator for exploration, science mission directorate. 'The images themselves are beautiful, they're really aesthetic, but I know there are a bunch of folks looking at them now that study the moon … Now its time for the specialists in the field to examine it and compare it to the other data we have from the mission and see what conclusions they can propose and draw from.' Lunar horizon glow was first documented by the astronaut Eugene Cernan, one of the last two men to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Subsequent observations concluded that the phenomenon was due to tiny dust particles in the moon's thin atmosphere glowing at lunar sunrise and sunset, while some theories suggest the particles levitated. Blue Ghost also captured high-definition imagery of a total eclipse on 14 March, when the Earth blocked the sun from the moon's horizon. A SpaceX Falcon rocket launched the lander, which is about the size of a hippopotamus, on a 2.8-mile journey on 15 January. Blue Ghost was carrying an array of scientific experiments, including a lunar soil analyzer, a radiation-tolerant computer and an experiment testing the feasibility of using the existing global satellite navigation system to navigate the moon. 'Firefly Aerospace is extremely proud to have accomplished this first fully successful commercial moon landing,' Jason Kim, the company's chief executive, said. 'I truly believe Firefly and Blue Ghost's historic mission will be a new chapter in textbooks and become a beacon of what humanity can achieve.' A separate mission by a private company to land a spacecraft carrying scientific equipment on the moon ended in failure earlier this month when the Athena probe launched by Intuitive Machines toppled upon landing and was declared dead.
BBC News
24-02-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Nasa mission to map water on the Moon
A small satellite is due to be sent to the Moon this week to find and map out any water that's on the lunar Lunar Trailblazer, which is an unmanned craft, will be blasted into space on a SpaceX Falcon 48 hours after take-off it will separate from the rocket and make its way independently to the aim during its two-year mission is to discover water on the Moon, find out what form it is in and where exactly it is, and map its locations on the information will be used to support future missions to the Moon. The Moon is usually thought to be a completely dry and arid place, but recent research suggested there is more water than scientists originally thought.A study in 2020 showed that pockets of ice could be hiding in the shadows of the is important for future missions because it is needed for drinking. Scientists also say the water molecule, H2O, could be split up so the hydrogen it contains can be used for rocket fuel. The Lunar Trailblazer is kitted out with two science instruments, which will help it achieve its High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper will identify water and work out how much there is. While the Lunar Thermal Mapper, which was built by University of Oxford's Department of Physics in the UK, will map the surface temperature and what the lunar surface is made up told Newsround that the Lunar Trailblazer is set to launch no earlier than 26 will be joining a larger mission as a rideshare - this is when Nasa takes advantage of extra room on a rocket which is already setting off. Once at its destination, the Lunar Trailblazer will be making 12 orbits a day, observing the surface over different times.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
How a chunk of a SpaceX rocket wound up behind a Polish warehouse
Adam Burucki had a very peculiar Wednesday morning. Upon arriving at his warehouse in the quaint Polish village of Komorniki, he discovered that a massive chunk of charred rocket debris had crash-landed on his property. Flabbergasted by the discovery, he called the police in the nearby city of Poznan, the BBC reported. The police, working alongside the Polish Space Agency, known as POLSA, then determined that the 3-by-5-foot object was from a Falcon 9 rocket manufactured by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, according to the news outlet. Police also said that a similar piece of debris was found near the village of Wiry, about 2½ miles from Komorniki. The rocket was launched Feb. 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County and carried 22 Starlink satellites into orbit, according to a statement from POLSA. The Falcon 9 rocket is designed to transport people and cargo into space and then safely reenter Earth's atmosphere. However, at 4:46 a.m. local time Wednesday, the second stage of the rocket made an uncontrolled reentry over Poland, POLSA said. During this time, fragments of the rocket burning up as fireballs could be seen in the skies over the country, according to the Polish Press Agency and videos shared on social media. The second stage is the upper portion of the rocket and is responsible for delivering items into orbit after the first stage has successfully propelled the rocket into Earth's upper atmosphere and detached itself. In a Falcon 9 rocket, the first stage separates from the second stage about 2 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff. The first stage is designed to be reusable, while the second stage is expendable and replaced after each mission. Harvard University astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell in his online Space Report identified the debris found on Burucki's property as a composite overwrapped pressure vessel from the second stage. This is a high-strength container used to store helium gas, which is critical for pressurizing the rocket's propellant tanks and ensuring proper fuel flow to its engines. UCLA astronomy professor Edward Wright told The Times it was likely that an engine or controls failure prevented the second stage from reentering Earth's atmosphere in a controlled manner and making a routine landing in the Pacific Ocean. Most of the rocket combusted in the intense heat created by the friction of hurtling through the atmosphere at 18,000 mph, he said. McDowell noted that this was the fourth recent problematic incident with the SpaceX Falcon. "So far, we've been lucky and no one has been hurt," he told the BBC, "but the more we put into the Earth's orbit, the more likely it is that our luck will run out." Read more: The chances of an asteroid hitting Earth in 2032 have changed. But what's the risk, really? In July, a Falcon 9 second stage experienced an oxygen leak, leading to engine problems and the premature release of 20 satellites. In August, the rocket's reusable first stage toppled into the ocean during a failed routine landing on a seafaring barge. Then during a NASA astronaut rescue mission in September, the Falcon 9's second stage experienced an abnormal deorbit burn, which caused it to land outside the intended area. The Falcon 9 holds the record for the highest number of launches and reuses in U.S. history. It has made 391 landings since its launch in 2010, according to SpaceX. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the debris found in Poland. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
20-02-2025
- Science
- Los Angeles Times
How a chunk of a SpaceX rocket wound up behind a Polish warehouse
Adam Burucki had a very peculiar Wednesday morning. Upon arriving at his warehouse in the quaint Polish village of Komorniki, he discovered that a massive chunk of charred rocket debris had crash-landed on his property. Flabbergasted by the discovery, he called the police in the nearby city of Poznan, the BBC reported. The police, working alongside the Polish Space Agency, known as POLSA, then determined that the 3-by-5-foot object was from a Falcon 9 rocket manufactured by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, according to the news outlet. Police also said that a similar piece of debris was found near the village of Wiry, about 2½ miles from Komorniki. The rocket was launched Feb. 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County and carried 22 Starlink satellites into orbit, according to a statement from POLSA. The Falcon 9 rocket is designed to transport people and cargo into space and then safely reenter Earth's atmosphere. However, at 4:46 a.m. local time Wednesday, the second stage of the rocket made an uncontrolled reentry over Poland, POLSA said. During this time, fragments of the rocket burning up as fireballs could be seen in the skies over the country, according to the Polish Press Agency and videos shared on social media. The second stage is the upper portion of the rocket and is responsible for delivering items into orbit after the first stage has successfully propelled the rocket into Earth's upper atmosphere and detached itself. In a Falcon 9 rocket, the first stage separates from the second stage about 2 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff. The first stage is designed to be reusable, while the second stage is expendable and replaced after each mission. Harvard University astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell in his online Space Report identified the debris found on Burucki's property as a composite overwrapped pressure vessel from the second stage. This is a high-strength container used to store helium gas, which is critical for pressurizing the rocket's propellant tanks and ensuring proper fuel flow to its engines. UCLA astronomy professor Edward Wright told The Times it was likely that an engine or controls failure prevented the second stage from reentering Earth's atmosphere in a controlled manner and making a routine landing in the Pacific Ocean. Most of the rocket combusted in the intense heat created by the friction of hurtling through the atmosphere at 18,000 mph, he said. McDowell noted that this was the fourth recent problematic incident with the SpaceX Falcon. 'So far, we've been lucky and no one has been hurt,' he told the BBC, 'but the more we put into the Earth's orbit, the more likely it is that our luck will run out.' In July, a Falcon 9 second stage experienced an oxygen leak, leading to engine problems and the premature release of 20 satellites. In August, the rocket's reusable first stage toppled into the ocean during a failed routine landing on a seafaring barge. Then during a NASA astronaut rescue mission in September, the Falcon 9's second stage experienced an abnormal deorbit burn, which caused it to land outside the intended area. The Falcon 9 holds the record for the highest number of launches and reuses in U.S. history. It has made 391 landings since its launch in 2010, according to SpaceX. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the debris found in Poland.
