Category Archives: Moon Rocks

Friday / 4 Aug 2023

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China Now Accepting International Requests for Chang’E-5 Lunar Samples

International governments, space agencies and organizations are invited to borrow portions of the 1,731 g of Moon regolith collected by CE-5 lander within Oceanus Procellarum (43.1°N, 51.8°W) and returned to Earth 17 Dec 2020; 1-year loans will be granted for both scientific research use and for public outreach / education, with application review occurring every 6 months managed by CNSA Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center (LESEC); CE-6 launching NET May 2024 to return first far side samples from South Pole–Aitken basin area between 150–158° W, 41–45° S

Tuesday / 11 July 2023

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Lunar Far Side Hot Spot May Indicate Large Presence of Granite, Raising Questions About Moon Volcanism

Thorium-containing Compton–Belkovich Volcanic Complex lies over 50-diameter area with 20x higher heat flux vs typical lunar highlands, thought to signify large granitic structure, per research led by Planetary Science Institute, drawing primarily from Chang’E-1 & 2 four-channel (3-37 GHz) radiometric datasets paired with LRO Diviner IR, Chandrayaan-1, GRAIL, and Apollo readings; If confirmed, find may alter understanding of lunar volcanism / water on Moon timeline; Study lead Matthew Siegler of SMU to present in-person at Goldschmidt Conference in Lyon, France on 12 July

Pictured: Study authors (L-R) Matthew Siegler, Jianquing Fang of PSI; Credits: NASA, GSFC, ASU, WUSTL

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 17-20 Feb 2023

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Companies Race to Develop and Deploy ISRU Techniques to Extract Building Materials and Oxygen on Moon

Blue Origin is latest entrant in effort to establish manufacturing processes for lunar buildout with Blue Alchemist molten regolith electrolysis extraction of Fe, Al, Si / PV cell & wire printing; Lunar Resources of Houston TX plans FarView Observatory construction via molten oxide electrolysis and is conducting 9-month NIAC feasibility study of MSP pipeline to deliver oxygen gas byproduct; ESA working to develop molten salt electrolysis with Metalysis of UK; Helios of Israel working with Eta Space of Florida on similar system; CO School of Mines to gather lunar prospectors 6-9 June at Lunar Resources Roundtable in Golden

Credits: Blue Origin, NASA, Lunar Resources, Helios, Metalysis

Friday / 17 June 2022

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Chang’e-5 Analyses Determine Hydroxyl / Helium-3 Prevalence, Astrobotic Working on Lunar Night Power

In-situ & laboratory analysis of Chang’e-5 samples by NAOC-CAS show 28.5 ppm OH content in soil / up to 179 ppm within apatite-containing rock samples; Separate study at Nanjing University finds 5-25nm Helium-3 bubbles trapped in surface layer of ilmenite particles, estimates 260,000t 3He may be contained on Moon, sufficient quantity in theory to power Earth for 2600 years; Astrobotic partnering with WiBotic, Bosch to develop wireless charging system capable of enduring -118° to 104°C temp during 14-Earth day lunar night

Credits: NAOC-CAS, Astrobotic, Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering

Tuesday / 3 May 2022

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Planetary Science Decadal Survey Delineates Artemis-Era Moon Mission Priorities

NASEM report Origins, Worlds, and Life: Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032 outlines plan to advance foundational Solar System understanding, including major initiatives on lunar surface: US$1.5B sample return Endurance-A, delivered by CLPS, would collect up to 100kg of regolith from 12 sites within South Pole-Aitken Basin spread over 2,000km to be retrieved by Artemis Astronauts vs $2.4B automated Endurance-R, which would return just 2.2kg; Either option would be powered by 245-W RTG and weigh 570kg; $903M Lunar Geophysical Network planned to operate 6+ years from 4 sites

Credits: NASEM / David Hinkle

Friday / 22 Jan 2021

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Biden-Harris Administration Start Term With Apollo / Artemis Invocations, Moon Rock, NASA Appointments

New USA Leaders Signal Awareness Of Transcendent / Unifying Nature Of Lunar Exploration, In First Formal Address To Country As Vice President, Kamala Harris Declares “We Shoot For the Moon, Then We Plant A Flag In It”; President Joseph Biden Reportedly Places Lunar Sample In Oval Office Adjacent To Benjamin Franklin Portrait; NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk / Senior White House Appointee Bhavya Lal Announce Appointments; SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell Muses Artemis Human Return To Moon Realistic Timeline “Slightly Later Than 2024” Per SpaceNews

Credits: NASA, Youtube

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 6-9 Dec 2019

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China (Zhongguo) Long March 5 Flight To Support Moon, Mars, Human Spaceflight Ambitions

 Long March 5 Critical Return To Flight Counting Down To 27 December 2019 Launch From Wenchang Spaceport On Hainan Island; Long March 5 Planned To Launch Chang’e-5 Lunar Sample Return And 2020 Mars Mission; Moon Samples To Be Analyzed At Special Facility Headed By China Lunar Exploration Program Chief Scientist Ouyang Ziyuan; China Plans 30 Orbital Launches In 2020; Space Station Modules, CE-6, CE-7 And CE-8 Planned To Be Launched By Long March Variants Starting In 2021

Credits: CAST, Shanghai Institute of Technology

Friday / 2 Nov 2018

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Moon Rocks Valued At >US$700K Highlights Significance, Worth Of Lunar Resources

Sotheby’s Auction Of 3 Lunar Pebbles Brought Back From Soviet Luna 16 Mission In 1970 Opening 25 November, Expected To Be Sold For $700K – $1M; Approximately 382 kg Collected From Apollo And 326 grams From Luna Missions Are Considered Priceless For Their Rarity, Contributions To Scientific Discoveries, Research Value And General Commercial Appeal; More Than 35 Lunar Simulants Created / Being Studied By International Space Agencies, Universities and Enterprises; Next Lunar Sample Return Mission Chang’e-5 Launching NET 2019 Could Return 2 kg

Credits: Sotheby’s, NAOC, Ilhan Chang, Bembmv

Wednesday / 10 Oct 2018

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Enterprises Working On Moon Race Competition, Lunar Regolith, Lunar Library Mission

“Moon Race” Sponsored By Airbus, Blue Origin And Partners Challenges Private Enterprise With Four Goals: Extract Water From Lunar Regolith, Manufacture Useful Objects From Lunar Resources, Use Lunar Regolith Plus Water To Grow Plants, And Generate Energy On Moon; Startup Company “Off Planet Research” Producing Simulated Lunar Regolith, Offering Samples To Backers Of Indiegogo Project; Lunar Library Project Sponsored By Microsoft Will Use Synthetic DNA To Archive Human Knowledge; Public To Contribute Images Via MemoriesInDNA Project; Library To Land With Astrobotic-Built Peregrine Lander In 2020 

Credits: Moon Race, Off Planet Research

Friday / 16 Mar 2018

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Crater-Counting AI Algorithm Discovers ~7,000 Moon Craters, Advances Extraterrestrial Mapping Techniques

 Moon Crater Identification Project Led By Ari Silburt At Penn State University And Mohamad Ali-Dib At University Of Toronto Uses Algorithm To Find Craters >5-km Diameter, Leads To Discovery Of 6,883 New Craters In Only A Few Hours & Confirms Previously Known Craters With Very Few Errors; Lunar Craters Are Significant For Solar System Origin Clues, Establishing Areas Of Interest For Exploration, Science, Sample Return, Human Settlement; Artificial Intelligence Mapping Techniques For Big Data Could Be Used For Solar / Extrasolar Systems, Geologic / Other Observations

Credits: NASA, JPL, Caltech, Ari Silburt (L), Mohamad Ali-Dib (R), Univ. of Toronto, PSRD, David Trang, LROC WAC, et al