NASA shares first pic of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede’s North Pole; internet says ‘fascinating’

Independent space research agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shared a first ever photo of North Pole of Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter.

The official account of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory division took to twitter and posted the photo and wrote, “For the first time ever, @NASAJuno imaged the north pole of the largest moon in the solar system: Jupiter’s moon Ganymede.”

Read More ... NASA shares first pic of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede’s North Pole; internet says ‘fascinating’

Moon is 85 million years younger than previously thought: Study

A new study suggests that Moon is estimated to have formed 85 million years later than previously thought. It is said that it was born at the end of Earth’s formation.

Read More ...  Moon is 85 million years younger than previously thought: Study

Space agency: Human urine could help make concrete on Moon

Space agency: Human urine could help make concrete on Moon

Berlin: The European Space Agency said Friday that human urine could one day become a useful ingredient in making concrete to build on the Moon.

The agency said researchers in a recent study it sponsored found that urea, the main organic compound in urine, would make the mixture for a lunar concrete more malleable before it hardens into its sturdy final form.

It noted that using only materials available on site for a Moon base or other construction would reduce the need to launch supplies from Earth.

The main ingredient in lunar concrete would be a powdery soil found on the Moon’s surface known as lunar regolith.

ESA said urea, which can break hydrogen bonds and reduce the viscosity of fluid mixtures, would limit the amount of water necessary in the recipe.

Thanks to future lunar inhabitants, the 1.5 liters (3.2 pints) of liquid waste a person generates each day could become a promising by-product for space exploration, it said in a statement.

On Earth, urea is used as an industrial fertilizer and a raw material by chemical and medical companies.

The hope is that astronaut urine could be essentially used as it is on a future lunar base, with minor adjustments to the water content,” study co-author Marlies Arnhof said in the ESA statement.

This is very practical, and avoids the need to further complicate the sophisticated water recycling systems in space.

Piece of moon that fell on earth has been put for sale at $2.49 million

Piece of moon that fell on earth has been put for sale at $2.49 million

A piece of the moon that fell on earth is for sale at the famed Christie’s auction house. It is one of largest lunar meteorites in existence and has been put up for at $2.49 million.

The lunar meteorite, known as NWA 12691, fell to Earth in a meteor shower and was found two years ago in the Sahara Desert

Sources claim that the moon rock weighs 13.5 kg and was said to be stuck off the surface of the moon by a collision with an asteroid or comet. The piece later fell on the Earth and landed in Sahara and was first found by an anonymous person. The rock had to travel at least 239,000 miles through space before falling to Earth in a fiery meteor shower.

Christie’s head of Science & Natural History, James Hyslop, said, “Weighing over 13.5kg, it is so much larger than anything else that has ever been offered before. The experience of holding a piece of another world in your hands is something you never forget.”

Also, this isn’t the first time that a meteorite has been discovered in the Sahara. Earlier, there have been many similar discoveries of meteorites and rocks.