Take a look at the image above. Can you determine where this image originated? Take a guess and then check your answer by going to the menu and selecting the “Where is this?” page.
Where is This? August 15, 2022 Quiz
South Korea Shoots for the Moon
Last week, South Korea launched a spacecraft towards the Moon via a SpaceX rocket. As with other nations and programs (the U.S., Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan, China, Luxembourg, Israel, and India), South Korea hopes to learn more about the Moon and share it with the scientific community. NASA also has a role in this latest mission, having added instruments to the spacecraft.
The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, dubbed the Danuri, will be South Korea’s first foray towards the Moon. It will not reach the Moon until December, and then remain in orbit for about a year. In terms of the overall mission of the spacecraft, NASA noted:
…the objectives are to develop indigenous lunar exploration technologies, demonstrate a ‘space internet,’ and conduct scientific investigations of the lunar environment, topography, and resources, as well as identify potential landing sites for future missions.
In addition to other equipment, NASA added a high-sensitivity camera called ShadowCam, which will look for evidence of ice in the lunar craters.
South Korea is also part of the Artemis Accords, which the U.S. and other nations signed to establish a lunar presence to be followed by travel to Mars. At the time of the signing, South Korea’s Minister of Science and ICT stated:
For successful space exploration, it is critical to implement space development activities transparently and responsibly by collaborating with the international community…With the signing of the Artemis Accords, Korea would be able to strengthen cooperation with nations participating in the Accords in exploring the outer space.
It is encouraging to see more cooperation in the space realm, even if things are rocky with Russia, one the the bigger players to date.
Space Stories: Radioactive Ceres, Moon Clues, and Starlink’s Shine
Here are some recent stories of interest.
—SkyandTelescope.org: “Asteroid Ceres Was Radioactive — And That Could Explain a Lot“
A team of U.S. planetary scientists has shown that unexpected surface features on the dwarf planet Ceres can be explained by radioactive decay in its interior long ago. If they are right, their model could explain features not just on other dwarf planets, but also on some of the icy moons in the outer solar system.
—ScienceDaily.com: “One More Clue to the Moon’s Origin“
Researchers discover the first definitive proof that the Moon inherited indigenous noble gases from the Earth’s mantle. The discovery represents a significant piece of the puzzle towards understanding how the Moon and, potentially, the Earth and other celestial bodies were formed.
—UniverseToday.com: “Starlink Satellites Are Still Bright“
The new generation of Starlink satellites remain above the accepted brightness threshold. It’s one of the stranger sights of the modern Space Age. Recently, we found ourselves under the relatively dark skies of southern Spain. Sure enough, within a few minutes, we caught sight of a chain of flashing ‘stars’ winking in and out of view in quick succession.
Space Quote: Studying Exoplanets
“We are interested in understanding the diversity and atmospheric compositions of planets between the size of Earth and Neptune…“‘Super-Earths’ and ‘mini-Neptunes’ are the most common types of planets in our galaxy. But we only have a few examples of atmospheric measurements from these types of planets.”
-Statement by Johanna Teske, a staff scientist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington who is co-leading a Webb observation team with Natasha Batalha at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Northern California. She was discussing the James Webb Space Telescope’s role to better understand exoplanets. Her comments and more are included in a NASA news article, “Exoplanets: What NASA Will See with the Webb Telescope.”
Pic of the Week: Captain Picard in California
This week’s image shows Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard) and Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher) discussing Star Trek at the 2022 Comic Con in San Diego, CA. You can watch the full panel discussion here. You can also watch the season three (and final season) trailer for Star Trek: Picard here, indicating our favorites from The Next Generation will be returning one more time.
Our Awesome Universe 