Speaking of Soil Samples…

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan approaching the Lunar Roving Vehicle. (NASA)

In addition to the asteroid Bennu sample, a lunar sample from 1972 is also grabbing headlines. It appears that the lunar sample collected by the Apollo 17 crew indicates the Moon may be about 40 million years older than previously believed.

In a study published in the journal Geochemical Perspectives Letters, titled “4.46 Ga Zircons Anchor Chronology of Lunar Magma Ocean,” states (in part):

The atomic spatial resolution analysis of individual mineral grains demonstrates the absence of nanoscale clustering of lead, which supports a 4.46 Ga ancient formation age for lunar zircon in sample 72255. This age pushes back the age of the first preserved lunar crust by ∼40 Myr and provides a minimum formation age for the Moon within 110 Myr after the formation of the solar system.

If you can forgive the title of the piece, it basically resets the understanding of the Moon’s formation and, thereby, the formation of the early Earth.

In a Reuters story, Cosmochemist Philipp Heck, senior director of research at the Field Museum in Chicago and senior author of the study, noted:

The giant impact that formed the moon was a cataclysmic event for Earth and changed Earth’s rotational speed. After that, the moon had an effect on stabilizing Earth’s rotational axis and slowing down Earth’s rotational speed…The formation date of the moon is important as only after that Earth became a habitable planet.

What will we still be learning about asteroid Bennu in 50 years (assuming we can get all of that soil out of the canister)?

Can Someone Give NASA a Hand with its Asteroid Canister?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule. (NASA/Lockheed Martin)

Remember when you had to run the pickle jar under the faucet before you could take off the lid? Well, this can even happen to scientists. In fact, it has happened with NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) sample canister.

NASA has reported that it is still trying to get the lid off of the canister, though it has been able to collect material from outside the container. On Friday, NASA stated:

In the last week, the team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston changed its approach to opening the TAGSAM head, which contained the bulk of the rocks and dust collected by the spacecraft in 2020. After multiple attempts at removal, the team discovered two of the 35 fasteners on the TAGSAM head could not be removed with the current tools approved for use in the OSIRIS-REx glovebox. The team has been working to develop and implement new approaches to extract the material inside the head, while continuing to keep the sample safe and pristine.

NASA stated it may take a few more weeks to resolve since the scientists need to be careful with the tools they use in the confined space.

The good news is that, even without the additional material, the team has already recovered about 70 grams of material from asteroid Bennu sample, which surpasses the agency’s goal of bringing at least 60 grams to Earth.

It is a pretty odd ending after the sample has gone through a multi-year journey before landing in the Utah desert. At least the sample canister is in a safe place while the scientists play with it.

Movie: Dune, Part Two Not Due Until Next Year

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Scene from Dune, Part Two. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

I had been posting the planned November 3, 2023 date for the premiere of the film Dune, Part Two, but the movie has had some issues and it is not planned for March 15, 2024. Yes, I know, it’s a big disappointment.

Many of you probably already know this. I guess I haven’t been watching the press on this one because Variety magazine and others reported on the delay back in August, attributing it to the writer’s strike.

The last official trailer from Warner Bros. Pictures was three months ago, but it is worth watching again if only to prepare for what is to come (you can see a variety of other more recent trailers floating around from various parties, such as this one from Screen Culture).

I am glad the second film is coming, regardless of the delay. I will just have to re-watch the first part a few more times to get ready for the big battle.

Space Quote: The 8 Billion-Year-Old Signal

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in Western Australia, which detected the 8 billion-year-old signal. (https://www.icrar.org/)

“We were lucky to be looking at that little spot in the sky for that one millisecond after the eight billion years the pulse had travelled to catch it.”

-Statement by Ryan Shannon, an astrophysicist at Australia’s Swinburne University and co-author of a study describing the signal that was received June 10th last year, as quoted by CBS News. The same article noted that “The pulse was so powerful that — in under a millisecond — it released as much energy as the sun emits over 30 years.”

India Has Even Greater Space Ambitions

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Logo of the Indian Space Research Organization. (ISRO)

After recently sending a rover to the Moon and a spaceship to the Sun, India announced plans to build its own space station by 2035 and also send its own astronaut to the Moon by 2040. It also wants to start work on missions to Venus and Mars. How is that for ambitious?

In a press release this week, India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi stated the following:

Building on the success of the Indian space initiatives, including the recent Chandrayan-3  and Aditya L1 Missions, Prime Minister directed that India should now aim for new and ambitious goals, including setting up ‘Bharatiya Antariksha Station’ (Indian Space Station) by 2035 and sending first Indian to the Moon by 2040.

To realize this Vision, the Department of Space will develop a roadmap for Moon exploration. This will encompass a series of Chandrayaan missions, the development of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), construction of a new launch pad, setting up human-centric Laboratories and associated technologies.

Prime Minister also called upon Indian scientists to work towards interplanetary missions that would include a Venus Orbiter Mission and a Mars Lander.

The space race continues with India showing itself as a strong player in space, potentially replacing Russia as one of the key space-faring nations. It benefits everyone to have more nations studying our solar system. It is unfortunate that Russia has concerned itself with less dignified matters back here on Earth. Maybe it will look to the stars again one day soon.