NASA is deciding whether or not to approve the construction of a human-tended outpost close to the far side of the Moon.

According to a February 3 memo leaked to Space.com, a team is being put together to devise a plan for exploring a part of space known as ‘Earth-Moon libration point 2′ or EML-2.

What’s a libration point? In short, it’s a part of space where the gravitational pull of two massive objects (in this case, the Earth and the Moon) cancel one another out. This means objects (such as an outpost, say) can remain in that one spot, held rigidly in place by gravity.

Establishing a waypoint close to the Moon that can be used by humans would open up all sorts of possibilities, including the exploration of near-lunar space, the Moon, the moons of Mars and eventually Mars itself. Should an astronaut-manned waypoint be constructed at EML-2, it would represent the farthest man has traveled from Earth. A mission to an EML-2 outpost would reportedly have astronauts traveling 15 percent farther from Earth than the Apollo astronauts. The length of their stay in deep space would be trebled.

NASA would require participation from commercial and/or academic sectors to proceed with the construction of an outpost. Such a construction would use NASA’s already-proposed heavy-lift rocket, also known as the Space Launch System, and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle as “foundational elements.”

The research team mentioned in NASA’s memo has been given a deadline to complete its study of March 30, 2012.

[Via Space.com, image is artist's impression]

NASA Considers Building Outpost Close To Moon is a post from: The Inquisitr

When Astronauts in 1969 brought back a sample of moon rock scientists didn’t know what to expect, not it turns out that one of the minerals is actually available right here on Earth.

Scientists examining billion-year-old rocks in Australia discovered small amounts of Tranquillityite, a substance named after the Sea of Tranquility.

Researchers had long believed the substance was  ”the moon’s own mineral.”

After the Apollo landing scientists were able to discover two more moon substances on Earth but then their search for remaining minerals ran dry.

The substance known as Tranquillityite is made up mostly of the following minerals; iron, silicon, oxygen, zirconium, titanium, and yttrium

The Telegraph is quick to point out that the substance has no economic value but will help scientists gauge the age of other rocks in which the substance is found.

Speaking about his find the paleontologist who found the rocks called it “a bit of a thrill” and was surprised that he and his fellow paleontologists hadn’t managed to discover the substance earlier, telling the Sydney Morning Herald:

“I suspect that people weren’t really looking that hard.”

Those moon rocks that are worth a fortune just  keep appearing to be more like regular earth rocks every single day.

Do you think it’s cool to learn that hard to find elements from the moon’s surface are actually located right here on Earth?

Moon Mineral Discovered Inside Ancient Earth Rock is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Moon and the planet Venus made an appearance in the night sky on Monday, but if you missed it, worry not – Venus will be appearing again on Tuesday.

In fact, by sunset on Tuesday evening, the Moon and Venus should be easily visible in clear conditions with little or no haze. As in the picture above, Venus will appear as a bright dot below the Moon, which will be a 12 percent crescent.

To prepare for your Venus sighting, it’s advised you check your south-southwest sky during the late afternoon hours of Tuesday to locate the Moon. As the sun starts to go down, Venus will become visible to the naked eye. It will be positioned approximately one fist (held at arm’s length) below the Moon – scientifically speaking, the distance between the pair will be 10 degrees.

As the night sky begins to darken, Venus will likely drop out of sight, around two and a half hours after sunset.  It shouldn’t be too hard to spot while visible, however – scientists say it will shine 11 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

Tuesday evening should also have a case of “earthshine” – that’s sunlight reflected by the Earth that dimly illuminates the Moon’s dark portion with a faint gray-blue glow. It gives the Moon a more three-dimensional appearance than usual.

Venus is a whopping 197 million kilometers from the Earth, while the Moon is a comparative stroll away – 379,000 km. That’s why the latter seems to move more rapidly against background stars than Venus.

If anybody’s planning a Venus viewing, let us know how you get on!

Moon and Venus to Appear in Sky on Tuesday is a post from: The Inquisitr

I understand that we are running out of spaces where we can have out mortal remains buried so that everyone can come and pay their last respects but the idea of polluting the great expanse of space with an ever increasing number of shiny urns doesn’t strike me as the greatest of ideas.

However this doesn’t seem to have fazed the government of Virginia in the least as they are floating the idea that you could get a tax deduction of up to $8,000 is you agree to ship your remains into space once you pass away.

Not only are they trying to have you believe you could save some money on your taxes but they are also pushing the idea that this would be great for the local economy, specifically as a way to boost visitors to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island.

Mourners would eat at local restaurants, stay at hotels and visit attractions, said Donna Bozza, director of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism Commission, according to WTVR’s website.

“If you’re spending that money to go to space, you’re going to want your peeps to cheer you on,” she said.

via PhysOrg

Right now the whole space funeral business is dominated by a company called Celetis out of Huston Texas, where costs to have your remains launched into space can start at $1,000 up to $10,000 to have your remains sent to the Moon.

Send your ashes into space and get a tax break – What?! is a post from: The Inquisitr

As someone who has the rare privilege of saying that he watched  man step foot on the moon for the very first time on his thirteenth birthday I will say that watching the decline of the U.S. space program to nothing more than a bystander after the final space shuttle trip has been a little on the depressing side.

I apparently am not alone as two of NASA’s Apollo era astronauts have become very vocal on America’s relinquishing of being a leader in space exploration.

At a recent hearing by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Neil Armstrong; the man I watched at 13 place man’s first footprint on the Moon, had a few strong words about the situation.

“We will have no American access to, and return from, low Earth orbit and the International Space Station for an unpredictable length of time in the future,” Armstrong told the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

“For a country that has invested so much for so long to achieve a leadership position in space exploration and exploitation, this condition is viewed by many as lamentably embarrassing and unacceptable.”

via Discovery

Next up, Eugene Cernan, who commanded the last Apollo moon mission and was the last man to step on the Moon, had this to say about the current situation with the International Space Station and NASA in general.

“You want a launch vehicle today that will service the ISS? We’ve got it sitting down there. So before we put it in a museum, let’s make use of it. It’s in the prime of its life, how could we just put it away?”

Cernan hailed the vision of John F. Kennedy, “a bold and courageous president who started us on a journey to the stars,” and said thousands of Americans have been inspired by the space race with the Soviet Union.

“Today, we are on a path of decay. We are seeing the book close on five decades of accomplishment as the leader in human space exploration,” Cernan said.

via Discovery

Such a sad state of affairs, especially for a country who wrote the book on going to space and the moon.

Two Apollo era astronauts lament the decline of NASA – “It’s embarrassing” is a post from: The Inquisitr

This is pure science geek type stuff but it seems that our estimations of how old the Moon is might be off by a tad.

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Labratory have been examining the rocks collected by the Apollo 16 astronauts and they think that the Moon could be 60 million years younger than previously thought.

Lars Borg from Livermore says that its new age would put it closer to the 4.4 billion year of age of some of the oldest known minerals on our Earth, which are thought to be zircons at Jack Hills in Western Australia. So the assumption now is that the oldest crusts on both the Earth and the Moon were formed around the same time.

The prevailing hypothesis for the moon’s origin, the giant impact theory, involves a collision between the early proto-Earth and another proto-planet called Theia, which was about the size of Mars. Melted ejecta and debris from this impact was thrown into space, eventually coalescing over millions of years to form the moon.

As the moon cooled, this magma solidified into different mineral components with lunar crustal rocks called ferroan anorthosites (FAN) being the oldest. But scientists have had difficulty dating FAN samples.

Borg and colleagues used new refining techniques to analyze isotopes of lead and neodymium in their 1.88 gram sample of FAN from the lunar rock collection at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Their figure of 4.36 billion years pinpoints the time at which the sample crystallized. This figure is 200 million years after formation of the solar system and significantly later than assumed by most lunar formation models.

“It’s the first time a single sample of FAN yielded consistent ages from multiple isotope dating techniques,” Borg said. “Previous attempts to date these rocks have relied on just one isotopic clock which can be contaminated putting the age in error. So we started with the idea that we would get multiple age samples so we could have confidence it reflected the crystallization age of the sample.”

via Discovery

Guess that means the Moon will have to go back to being carded the next time it heads to the bar.

Scientists checking the Moon’s birth certificate, may not be as old as we thought is a post from: The Inquisitr

Twin impacts occurred at 11:31 UTC on October 9th, striking the crater Cabeus. At a press briefing today at 9am at PST NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA, preliminary data was unveiled regarding the details contained in massive amounts of data collected by the spacecraft:

“We are ecstatic,” said Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. “Multiple lines of evidence show water was present in both the high angle vapor plume and the ejecta curtain created by the LCROSS Centaur impact. The concentration and distribution of water and other substances requires further analysis, but it is safe to say Cabeus holds water.”

NASA indicates that presence of water may not be the extent of the moon’s secrets:

“The full understanding of the LCROSS data may take some time. The data is that rich,” Colaprete said. “Along with the water in Cabeus, there are hints of other intriguing substances. The permanently shadowed regions of the moon are truly cold traps, collecting and preserving material over billions of years.”

NASA says water found in moon crater is a post from: The Inquisitr

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first man on the Moon, Google has added Moon coverage to Google Earth.

Similar to Mars before it, the coverage of the Moon includes high resolution images where available, informational content about the Apollo landing sites, panoramic images shot by the Apollo astronauts, narrated tours and more. Like the other objects in Google Earth, place names on the Moon are also mapped.

Anousheh Ansari on the Google Blog claims that “this educational tool is a critical step into the future, a way to both develop the dreams of young people globally, and inspire new audacious goals.” As much as I want to believe that, it’s not the most exciting release from Google, but if your into dull boring gray rocks, it’s a delightfully good mashup. Personally I’d rather look at the Hubble Gallery

Video demo of Google Earth Moon as follows:

Google Sings Fly Me To The Moon on Google Earth is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Japanese spacecraft has detected Uranium on the moon.

The Japanese Kaguya spacecraft detected uranium with a gamma-ray spectrometer as part of a projet to map the moon’s surface composition. The finding in theory could mean that nuclear power plants could be built on the moon, or the moon could become an open cut mine.

“We’ve already gotten uranium results, which have never been reported before,” said Robert Reedy, a senior scientist at the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute told Florida media. “We’re getting more new elements and refining and confirming results found on the old maps.”

Since some creationists don’t believe the moon is lit by the sun, maybe the uranium can now be used to explain it

Uranium on the moon? More common than you think is a post from: The Inquisitr