Latest news with #UniversitiesSpaceResearchAssociation
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 152 — Atomic Rockets II: Nuclear Electric Boogaloo
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. On Episode 152 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik host Dr. Robert O'Brien, Director of the Universities Space Research Association's Center for Space Nuclear Research, for a fascinating deep dive into nuclear propulsion technology for space exploration. They discuss the history, current developments, and future potential of nuclear electric and nuclear thermal propulsion systems, which could revolutionize our ability to explore Mars and beyond — both robotically and with human crews. Download or subscribe to this show at: episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at SpaceX Crew-10 rescue mission launch Friday evening NASA Layoffs Saturn officially has 128 more moons Blood Worm Moon Lunar Eclipse! Relativity names Eric Schmidt as CEO as it updates Terran R development Dr. Robert O'Brien Center for Space Nuclear Research Universities Space Research Association Dr. Robert O'Brien's Background Idaho National Laboratory Media Resources Space Nuclear Propulsion Nuclear Rockets To the End of the Solar System: The Story of the Nuclear Rocket NERVA A.I. Sparks Nuclear Fusion Rocket Breakthrough – Pulsar Fusion Begins Construction of the Largest Practical Nuclear Fusion Rocket Engine Ever Built Project Orion Nuclear Propulsion - 1950s Tests | Unclassified Video Project Orion Nuclear Pulse Rocket Nuclear Pulse Propulsion: Gateway to the Stars SyFy's 'Ascension' Takes 1960s Nuclear Spaceship Idea to the Stars TOP TELESCOPE PICK: Looking for a telescope to see planets and comets? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide. Finally, did you know you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? Model rocket maker Estes' stunning scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket that you can pick up now. The launchable model is a detailed recreation of the Falcon 9 and retails for $149.99. You can save 10% by using the code IN-COLLECTSPACE at checkout, courtesy of our partners This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What's happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars? Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
35,000 mph speeding rocks ripped 2.2-mile-deep canyons on moon in 10 minutes
The moon's south pole has dramatic terrain. A new study reveals that this region — already known for mountains taller than Everest — also harbors canyons deeper than the Earth's Grand Canyon. Insights from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have uncovered that gigantic canyons were carved in mere minutes by floods of rock traveling at breakneck speeds. The orbiter provided insights into two lunar canyons: Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck. Vallis Schrödinger stretches 167 miles (270 km) long and nearly 1.7 miles (2.7 km) deep. Vallis Planck is even more immense, measuring 174 miles (280 km) long and almost 2.2 miles deep (3.5 km). As compared, the Earth's natural wonder is shallower — 277 miles (446 km) long and about 1.2 miles (1.9 km) deep. These two features formed during intense asteroid and comet impacts in the early years, which reshaped the Earth and Moon. "Nearly four billion years ago, an asteroid or comet flew over the lunar south pole, brushed by the mountain summits of Malapert and Mouton, and hit the lunar surface,' said David Kring, lead author from the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). 'The impact ejected high-energy streams of rock that carved two canyons that are the size of Earth's Grand Canyon. While the Grand Canyon took millions of years to form, the two grand canyons on the Moon were carved in less than 10 minutes," Kring added. "The impacting asteroid or comet likely hit the lunar surface with a speed of nearly 55,000 kilometers per hour (35,000 miles per hour)," as per the press lunar giants were carved by cataclysmic events related to the formation of the Schrödinger basin, a massive impact crater about 200 miles wide (320 km). It formed by an impact 3.81 billion years ago and is located around 600 km from the South Pole. This basin is based on the edge of the even larger and older South Pole-Aitken basin, a 1,490-mile-wide (2,400 km) crater dating back 4.2 to 4.3 billion years. The team analyzed the Schrödinger basin using photos sent by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. This analysis helped to decode how the Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck canyons formed. Moreover, they mapped the area to determine the speed and direction of debris from the impact that created the Schrödinger basin. Lunar debris slammed into the surface at speeds approaching "1 kilometer per second (3600 kilometers per hour or 2237 miles per hour)." As the debris struck, it created rays of secondary impacts that sculpted the lunar canyons. "The Schrödinger crater is similar in many regards to the dino-killing Chicxulub crater on Earth. By showing how Schrödinger's km-deep canyons were carved, this work has helped to illuminate how energetic the ejecta from these impacts can be," said Gareth Collins, the co-author, in the press release. The sheer energy involved in creating these canyons is mind-boggling. Scientists calculate it was over 130 times the energy contained in the world's current nuclear arsenal. The Colorado River carved this steep-sided Grand Canyon in Arizona over millions of years. The difference lies in the erosional force. The researchers explain powerful streams of rock carved in lunar canyons in minutes. The impact that created the Schrödinger basin scattered debris unevenly. The area closer to the South Pole-Aitken basin has less debris cover. This makes it a potentially easier location for astronauts to collect samples from the moon's early period. The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Moon Grand Canyon carved out in less than 10 minutes by bullet-fast space rocks
Two gorges on the Moon that are deeper than the Grand Canyon were carved out in less than 10 minutes by space rocks travelling at the speed of a bullet, astronomers have revealed. The Moon canyons, which are located in the Schrödinger impact basin, formed roughly 3.8 billion years ago when rocky debris from an asteroid or comet struck the lunar surface. Measuring 2.6 kilometres at its deepest point, the Vallis Planck gorge is roughly 800 metres deeper than the Grand Canyon in Arizona. New observations from scientists at the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the Universities Space Research Association in Houston suggest the impact of the space rocks was around 130 times greater than the combined energy potential of all the world's nuclear weapons. Unlike the sudden appearance of the Moon canyons, the Earth's Grand Canyon formed over millions of years as the Colorado River gradually eroded through the rock. Using data from Nasa's robotic Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, the researchers were able to estimate that the debris was travelling at speeds of around 3600 km per hour –similar to that of a bullet. 'When the impacting asteroid or comet hit the lunar surface, it excavated a tremendous volume of rock that was launched into space above the lunar surface before it came crashing back down,' said geologist David Kring from the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the Universities Space Research Association. 'Knots of rock within that curtain of debris hit the surface in a series of smaller impact events, effectively carving the canyons. Adjacent to the canyons, the debris would have covered the landscape.' The revelations will assist future lunar exploration, with the Schrödinger impact basin located close to the destination of the first astronauts taking part in Nasa's Artemis mission to the Moon. 'Because debris from the Schrödinger impact was jettisoned away from the lunar south pole, ancient rocks in the polar region will be at or close to the surface, where Artemis astronauts will be able to collect them,' Dr Kring said. 'Thus, it will be easier for astronauts to collect samples from the earliest epoch of lunar history.' The Moon canyons were detailed in a paper, titled 'Grand canyons on the Moon', published in Nature Communications on Tuesday.
The Independent
05-02-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Moon Grand Canyon carved out in less than 10 minutes by bullet-fast space rocks
Two gorges on the Moon that are deeper than the Grand Canyon were carved out in less than 10 minutes by space rocks travelling at the speed of a bullet, astronomers have revealed. The Moon canyons, which are located in the Schrödinger impact basin, formed roughly 3.8 billion years ago when rocky debris from an asteroid or comet struck the lunar surface. Measuring 2.6 kilometres at its deepest point, the Vallis Planck gorge is roughly 800 metres deeper than the Grand Canyon in Arizona. New observations from scientists at the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the Universities Space Research Association in Houston suggest the impact of the space rocks was around 130 times greater than the combined energy potential of all the world's nuclear weapons. Unlike the sudden appearance of the Moon canyons, the Earth's Grand Canyon formed over millions of years as the Colorado River gradually eroded through the rock. Using data from Nasa 's robotic Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, the researchers were able to estimate that the debris was travelling at speeds of around 3600 km per hour –similar to that of a bullet. 'When the impacting asteroid or comet hit the lunar surface, it excavated a tremendous volume of rock that was launched into space above the lunar surface before it came crashing back down,' said geologist David Kring from the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the Universities Space Research Association. 'Knots of rock within that curtain of debris hit the surface in a series of smaller impact events, effectively carving the canyons. Adjacent to the canyons, the debris would have covered the landscape.' The revelations will assist future lunar exploration, with the Schrödinger impact basin located close to the destination of the first astronauts taking part in Nasa's Artemis mission to the Moon. 'Because debris from the Schrödinger impact was jettisoned away from the lunar south pole, ancient rocks in the polar region will be at or close to the surface, where Artemis astronauts will be able to collect them,' Dr Kring said. 'Thus, it will be easier for astronauts to collect samples from the earliest epoch of lunar history.' The Moon canyons were detailed in a paper, titled 'Grand canyons on the Moon', published in Nature Communications on Tuesday.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Bullet-fast moon rocks carved 2 lunar gorges deeper than the Grand Canyon
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Two gigantic canyons on the moon — both deeper than the Grand Canyon — were carved in less than 10 minutes by floods of rocks traveling as fast as bullets, a new study finds. Scientists analyzed the lunar canyons, named Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck, to find that these huge valleys measure 167 miles long (270 kilometers) and nearly 1.7 miles (2.7 km) deep, and 174 miles long (280 km) and nearly 2.2 miles deep (3.5 km), respectively. In comparison, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long (446 km) and is, at most, about 1.2 miles deep (1.9 km), the researchers noted. "The lunar landscape is dramatic," David Kring, a geologist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the Universities Space Research Association, told "In the lunar south polar region, there are mountains that exceed Mt. Everest in height and canyons that exceed the Grand Canyon in depth. Future lunar surface explorers will be awed." This pair of lunar canyons represents two of many valleys radiating out from Schrödinger basin, a crater about 200 miles wide (320 km) that was blasted out of the lunar crust by a cosmic impact about 3.81 billion years ago. This structure is located in the outer margin of the moon's largest and oldest remaining impact crater, the South Pole–Aitken basin, which measures about 1,490 miles wide (2,400 km) and dates about 4.2 billion to 4.3 billion years old. Kring and his colleagues investigated the Schrödinger basin for potential landing sites for future robotic and human lunar missions. They analyzed photos from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to better understand how Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck formed, generating maps from these images of the moon's surface to calculate the direction and speed of debris expelled from the collision that created Schrödinger basin. The scientists estimate that rocky debris flew out from the impact at speeds between 2,125 to 2,860 miles per hour (3,420 to 4,600 km/h). In comparison, a bullet from a 9mm Luger handgun might fly at speeds of about 1,360 mph (2,200 km/h). The researchers suggest the energy needed to create both of these canyons would have been more than 130 times the energy in the current global inventory of nuclear weapons. "The lunar canyons we describe are produced by streams of rock, whereas the Grand Canyon was produced by a river of water," Kring said. "The streams of rock were far more energetic than the river of water, which is why the lunar canyons were produced in minutes and the Grand Canyon produced over millions of years." Related Stories: — Moon rock revelations could solve lingering lunar geology puzzle — Is the moon still geologically active? Evidence says it's possible — The moon may be 100 million years older than we thought The angle at which the collision occurred led the resulting debris to scatter in an uneven manner around the Schrödinger basin, with less material covering the area closer to the South Pole–Aitken basin. With less debris covering this ancient region, astronauts that land there "will find it easier to collect samples from the earliest epoch of the moon," Kring said. The scientists detailed their findings in a paper published on Feb. 4 in the journal Nature Communications.
