Tag: Space

Note 130 Apollo Mission Samples Reveal The Moon Is More Ancient Than We Thought

The Moon’s crater-covered countenance was previously thought to be a youthful 4.42 billion years old, give or take about 10 million years. But now, samples of crystals taken from the rocky satellite half a century ago indicate that the Moon is about 40 million years older than we knew.

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https://gizmodo.com/apollo-mission-samples-reveal-the-moon-is-more-ancient-1850950960

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Note 129 NASA Wants The Voyagers To Age Gracefully, So It’s Time For A Software Patch

Forty-six years in deep space have taken their toll on NASA’s twin Voyager spacecraft. Their antiquated computers sometimes do puzzling things, their thrusters are wearing out, and their fuel lines are becoming clogged. Around half of their science instruments no longer return data, and their power levels are declining.

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https://arstechnica.com/?p=1977686

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Note 067 There’s No Easy Answer To Being A Space Janitor

Earth’s orbit is getting crowded.

Last year, a record 2,409 objects were sent to orbit, the bulk of which were satellites settling into the increasingly cluttered region up to 1,200 miles above our planet’s surface known as low Earth orbit. Another 2,000-plus satellites have joined them so far this year, according to the UN’s Online Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space. As the presence of artificial objects in orbit grows, so too does the accumulation of debris, or space junk — and the risk of collisions. Dealing with existing waste and preventing its unchecked growth has become imperative, but it’s a problem that doesn’t have one simple solution.

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https://www.engadget.com/theres-no-easy-answer-to-being-a-space-janitor-170011469.html?src=rss

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Note 065 What Would Signal Life On Another Planet?

Surveying the atmospheres of planets beyond the solar system, such as those in the TRAPPIST-1 system, could turn up interesting molecules that might indicate life. But ruling out false positives will be a challenge.

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https://arstechnica.com/?p=1975686

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