Science

The American space agency NASA announced on Friday, January 18 that it has been 50 years since the US astronauts first walked on the lunar surface but now they are in touch with China National Space Administration (CNSA) and coordinating for Moon exploration, as it navigates a strict legal framework aimed at preventing technology transfer to China. In Twitter, NASA's associate administrator for the science mission directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen said, "With the required approval from Congress, NASA has been in discussions with China to explore the possibility of observing a signature of the landing plume of their lunar lander, Chang'e-4, using our @NASAMoon spacecraft's instrument." On Monday, January 14 A similar statement was made by the deputy chief commander of China Lunar Exploration Program, Wu Yanhua and Zurbuchen's tweet has given an idea about the expected joint collaboration between two space agencies. As per the statement, Yanhua said that while NASA shared information from … [Read more...] about NASA-China collaborate on Moon exploration: But what about the funds?

A new analysis of gravity science data collected from NASA's Cassini spacecraft has revealed that the rings of Saturn may have formed much later than the planet. A team of scientists from Rome's Sapienza University has conducted the study, published in the journal Science and their findings have indicated that the rings of Saturn were formed between 10 million and 100 million years ago, which means, from earth's perspective the creation took place during the age of dinosaurs. It should be noted that as per the astronomers, Saturn was formed 4.5 billion years ago, in the early years of the solar system. There have been clues, which showed that the ring system is a young upstart that attached to Saturn after several years. But, to confirm the age of these rings, scientists had to measure the mass of the ring or how much material they have. The research team had remote-sensing measurements from Cassini and both of NASA's Voyager spacecraft in the early 1980s. Then in 2017, before the … [Read more...] about Saturn’s rings mystery revealed: Thanks to NASA’s Cassini spacecraft

China's experiment to grow plants on the "dark" side of the Moon has already failed. Just days after announcing that the cotton seeds brought to the Moon by Chang'e-4 had begun germinating, China's space agency China National Space Administration (CNSA) revealed that the seedlings were not able to withstand the conditions of the lunar surface. The cotton seedlings had apparently died due to the extreme cold temperatures on the Moon, Hong Kong news outlet GB Times reported. Professor Liu Hanlong of Chongqing University, who is the project's leader, announced during a news conference on Wednesday that temperatures fell to -62 degrees Fahrenheit inside the biosphere of the Chang'e-4 on the far side of the Moon. The temperature could even drop to -292 degrees Fahrenheit. There have been no images and clear reports regarding the development and possible death of the seeds of rapeseed, potato and Arabidopsis, fruit fly eggs and yeast. But it is likely that they had also been frozen. There is … [Read more...] about China’s plants on dark side of moon dies due to freezing temperatures

A team of archaeologists have found evidence of early human activity at a partially fossilized prehistoric forest in the Lionacleit in Benbecula, Western Isles. As per the researchers, during studies of the site in 2018, they found an ancient site, where animals had been butchered and stone tools used for preparing food. After the discovery in Scotland, the team described it as "extra special." The findings include a bone with a piece of quartz from a stone tool as well as a quern stone, which is believed to be used as a grinding tool to prepare food. A local resident Ann Corrrance Monk informed The Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion (Scape) Trust, which is a charity that works out of the University of St Andrews, about the ancient remains. "An unexpected discovery during the fieldwork was the realisation that archaeological remains survived in the intertidal zone," said a research fellow at Scape, Joanna Hambly. In addition, she said, "These include a wall, the … [Read more...] about Archaeologists find sub-fossilized prehistoric forest in Scotland

The world's first artificial meteor shower may be happening soon. A Japanese company is apparently set to launch a satellite that will soon produce the first ever man-made meteor rain. Astro Live Experiences (ALE) is heading the artificial meteor shower project. The Tokyo-based company, headed by founder and CEO Lena Okajima, claims to be the first in the "space entertainment" sector and will be making artificial meteors its main product. ALE has been developing the artificial meteor shower for seven years and will finally be taking the first step to showing results to the world tonight. On Thursday, the satellite that will produce the first-ever artificial meteor shower is set to be launched into space on Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Epsilon Rocket no. 4 at 9:50 a.m. Japan time (7:50 p.m. EST), according to the BBC. This will be joined by six other satellites. As for how the artificial meteor shower works, it is said to mimic the real ones. Centimeter-sized pellets will … [Read more...] about Artificial Meteor Shower: How it works and when to watch