On Tuesday, a capsule carrying soil from the far side of the moon will parachute into the desert in China’s Inner Mongolia region. The sample, taken by the China National Space Administration’s Chang’e-6 lander, is expected to be the latest in a series of near-perfect executions of Chinese lunar exploration missions since 2007. Here’s what … Read more
HELSINKI – China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft is on its way to Earth to deliver samples collected from the far side of the Moon. The Chang’e-6 service module is likely to fire its engines for a trans-Earth injection around June 21. The spacecraft is now in the final leg of its complex, 53-day journey that includes a … Read more
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Why do some planets have moons and some don’t? – Siddharth, 6, Texas On Earth, you can look up at night and see the Moon shining brightly from hundreds of … Read more
In 1974, the late Princeton University professor and space visionary Gerard O’Neill proposed the use of electromagnetic railguns to lift payloads from the moon. O’Neill suggested using “mass drivers” based on a gun model to accelerate a non-magnetic object. One application for mass drivers was to launch lunar-derived materials into lunar orbit for manufacturing in … Read more
After another Chinese spacecraft touched down on the lunar surface earlier this month, this time to take samples from the far side of the moon, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised a country that is challenging the United States’ long-standing dominance in space. . He said he was impressed with the fourth successful moon landing. “It … Read more