Europe recruits astronauts for possible Moon missions: related news

Europe recruits astronauts for possible Moon missions

ESA astronauts André Kuipers and Frank de Winne train for spacewalks inside NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Facility in Houston, Texas, US (Image: ESA/A Kuipers)

What Shall We Do With the Moon Once We Get There?

MarkWhittington writes "For the first time in over thirty five years, the Moon has become the next frontier. The United States has committed to returning human astronauts to the Moon by the end of the next decade. China has hinted that it intends to do this also. A variety of countries, including the United States and China, but also India, Europe, and Japan, have either sent robotic probes into lunar orbit or are on the verge of doing so." Contribute your favorite moon ideas below; I'd like to see it used as the set to film The Moon is a Harsh Mistress .

NASA Awards Contract For Spacesuit of the Future

Guillermo brings news that NASA has awarded a contract for the development of the next generation of space suits for future use by astronauts in the Constellation program. The contract calls for two different levels of protection; a flexible, lightweight model for operations inside vehicles and stations, and a tougher, bulkier model built off the first for use on the moon. We've discussed spacesuit design (and what happens without them) in the past. "Suits and support systems will be needed for as many as four astronauts on moon voyages and as many as six space station travelers. For short trips to the moon, the suit design will support a week's worth of moon walks. The system also must be designed to support a significant number of moon walks during potential six-month lunar outpost expeditions.

Moon Dust Could Be Key Ingredient For Giant Lunar Telescope

The idea of an optical telescope on the moon gets astronomers understandably excited. With no atmosphere to blur incoming light, a lunar telescope could capture razor sharp images at magnifications that would not be possible with terrestrial 'scopes. But a major stumbling block - the cost of getting telescope construction materials to the moon - has derailed the idea in the past. Now, however, scientists as NASA may have stumbled upon a low-cost raw material to fabricate the telescope from - moon dust.

Bad Moon Rising

Researcher's New Book Exposes Korean Evangelist's Ties To The Religious Right And His Extraordinary Political Power In America Journalist and researcher John Gorenfeld has studied the political influence of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church for years. In his new book, Bad Moon Rising: How Reverend Moon Created The Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right, and Built an American Kingdom (PoliPoint Press, 2008), Gorenfeld explains how Moon used his fortune to ingratiate himself with the Religious Right and influence the course of conservative politics in America.

Who Owns the Moon? The Case for Lunar Property Rights

for all of human history, but it's only within the past few decades that it's been possible to travel there. And for just about as long as the moon has been within reach, people have been arguing about lunar property rights: Can astronauts claim the moon for king and country, as in the Age of Discovery? Are corporations allowed to expropriate its natural resources, and individuals to own its real estate?

Solar Sonic Boom: Eclipses May Generate Atmospheric Shocks

Something strange happens during a solar eclipse. As the Moon's shadow passes over the surface of the Earth, observers have noticed mysterious bands of shadow ripple ahead and behind the eclipse. It seemed possible that these bands were a result of constructive and destructive interference of sunlight around the limb of the Moon (an effect known as diffraction), or atmospheric turbulence may have had a part to play. However, a new theory has come to light. As the Moon's shadow travels across the Earth's surface, it may be possible that the shadow cools the atmosphere suddenly, creating a pressure difference. This gives rise to a sonic phenomenon: a shock front. This may refract the path of light from the lunar limb and through the atmosphere, creating the bands of light and dark.

NASA astronauts return to ISS after spacewalk

MOSCOW. June 4 (Interfax-AVN) - U.S. astronauts Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan have finished their spacewalk and returned to the airlock compartment of the International Space Station (ISS). "While outside the station the US. Astronauts assembled the Japanese module Kibo on the left side of the U.S. module Harmony, checked the air tightness of the docking, hooked the cooling and electricity systems of the two modules and installed and tested roller bearings in the turning mechanism of a solar panel," Russian Mission Control told Interfax-AVN. On Wednesday, both astronauts will start preparing for a second spacewalk, set for Thursday. And a third spacewalk for them is scheduled for Sunday. The ISS crew comprises Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Konenenko, and Gregory Chamitoff, who replaced Garret Reisman as a member of the missi

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Space Station Astronauts Could Get Stranded in Kibo

This could be a bit of a tricky (and amusing) situation for astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS). Space Shuttle Discovery astronaut Mark Kelly mentioned a minor technicality with the new Kibo laboratory during an in flight interview last Friday: It might be too spacious. Surely this is a good thing right? It is, and it isn't. On the one hand the lab provides a large volume for four astronauts to work in comfortably, but on the other hand, if you get stuck in the middle, you may not be able to reach the sides. This could result in a rather frustrating situation where one of the astronauts may become "stranded" in zero-G…

Internet Commerce Association Establishes Presence in Europe

Paris, France (PRWEB) June 18, 2008 -- On the opening day of the Domainer Meeting, the Internet Commerce Association (ICA) announced that, in cooperation with EuroDNS, it will establish a sister organization in Europe. Internet Commerce Association-Europe (ICA-EU) will be headquartered in Luxembourg to better represent its members with the EU Parliament and agencies located in Brussels, the European Court located in Luxembourg, and the separate governments of the nations of Europe.

NATSUME TO BRING THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATEDRUNE FACTORY 2: A FANTASY HARVEST MOON TO NINTENDO DS LATER THIS FALL

Burlingame, Calif., June 24, 2008– Natsume Inc., a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, announced today that Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon will be released for the Nintendo DS™ system later this fall. The company has also released the first screen shots of the game. The Rune Factory series is a unique blend of elements from the world of Harvest Moon and that of a fantasy RPG, offering Harvest Moon fans and traditional RPG players the best of both worlds.

Mission possible for astronauts

The European Space Agency begins a new recruitment drive to search for its next generation of astronauts.

Astronauts anchor Japanese lab to ISS

Astronauts have floated out of the International Space Station on the first of their three walks.Astronauts have floated out of the International Space Station on the first of their three walks.

Astronauts brief Earth from International Space Station

Washington - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station painstakingly displayed their national flags from the United States, Japan and Russia in zero gravity Monday as they prepared to address the world in a news conference. The 10 astronauts shared their experiences living aboard the ISS, one day after completing a third spacewalk that included preparations for bringing the Japanese research module Kibo on line and a retinue of other maintenance and inspection tasks.

ATV Evolution: is Europe ready?

Europe has proposed manned space missions several times but projects like Hermes were never realized due to lack of the political will to override the technical as well as financial obstacles. On Tuesday, May 13, EADS Astrium again lobbied for the evolution of the successful Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) to a Crew Transport Vehicle (CTV) by way of a transitional return-ATV. These plans are not new: EADS Astrium Space Transportation undertook a feasibility study on the very subject in 2004–2005, funded by ESA’s General Study Program. In the ATV Evolution Study EADS Astrium argued for an unmanned return spacecraft called Payload Transport Vehicle to be ready by 2010 with an estimated cost of €191 million ($295 million) and a CTV ready by 2015 with a cost of €413 million ($638 million).

Astronauts make final spacewalk of mission

HOUSTON: Spacewalking astronauts slipped outside the International Space Station yesterday to work on the outpost's cooling system and finish outfitting Japan's newly arrived Kibo research laboratory. The maintenance work was preventive-the station's air conditioner is functioning well but NASA wants to ensure it keeps doing so. With shuttle flights winding down, the US space agency is trying to get the space station as ready as possible to operate without shuttle servicing calls.

Moon Mission Launch in September: ISRO

BANGALORE: The wait for Mission Moon just got a little longer. A crucial meeting of the senior scientists at Isro's Satellite Centre has decided that the moon mission could blast off in September. Weather conditions will also determine the precise launch date.

Astronauts wanted: how to audition

Are you young and fit with a science degree? Then the moon is only a step away, says Roland White, as the European Space Agency is holding open auditions for astronauts

Moon to Hide a Beehive

If the weather is clear in your area on Saturday, May 10, be sure to check out the fat crescent moon in the southwestern sky with binoculars or a small, low power telescope as darkness falls. On that evening, the moon will be positioned within the dim constellation of Cancer, the Crab.

A Moon-Based Telescope

Shiny moon dust: NASA scientists have created a 12-inch telescope mirror by first mixing carbon nanotubes, epoxies, and lunar dust, and then spinning the concrete-like material to cure into a parabola shape. The scientists can then use a standard industrial polishing process or a special noncontact method that they developed, called reactive ion etching, to improve the quality of the mirror. The new approach could be used to build 50-meter telescopes on the moon.

Why Do Astronauts Suffer From Space Sickness?

Rotating astronauts for a lengthy period provided researcher Suzanne Nooij with better insight into how 'space sickness' develops, the nausea and disorientation experienced by many astronauts.

Why do astronauts suffer from space sickness?

Centrifuging astronauts for a lengthy period provided researcher Suzanne Nooij with better insight into how space sickness develops, the nausea and disorientation experienced by many astronauts. Nooij defended her PhD theses on this subject at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, The Netherlands) on Tuesday 20 May.

Why do astronauts suffer from space sickness?

Centrifuging astronauts for a lengthy period provided researcher Suzanne Nooij with better insight into how space sickness develops, the nausea and disorientation experienced by many astronauts. Nooij defended her PhD theses on this subject at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, The Netherlands) on Tuesday.

Russia, Europe ink deal on new manned spacecraft

A full moon over the sky in Singapore. The Russian and European space agencies have signed a deal to build a six-seat manned spacecraft to travel to the Moon a Russian space official said Wednesday.

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