Category Archives: Moon Colonization

Like many other ambitious people, Elon Musk wants humanity to become a multi-planetary civilization. Hes made no secret of his dream of sending colonists to Mars during his lifetime, but now,his vision is becoming a bit less abstract and a bit more concrete.

Musk, pictured talking at the International Astronautic Congress 2016 event. Image credits: Elon Musk/SpaceX.

Mr. Musks view, as it often is the case, is audacious. But he wants to make the audacious possible and even more than that, he wants to make it common.

I want to make Mars seem possible to do in our lifetimes, said Musk in his presentation (you can watch a replay of the talk here). I want anyone to go if they want to.

Of course, when we can barely scrape the resources for any manned mission to Mars, colonization seems outside the realm of possibility. But then again, many of the things Musk did seemed the same way, initially. We now have cheap, reusable rocketswhich go a long way towards making space flight more accessible. Hes making space tourism a reality by sending people to the Moon, and hes also planning to revolutionize trains which have remained largely unchanged for almost a century. Why should Mars be any different?

The first question is: why Mars?

An artistic depiction of a Mars colonist. Image credits: Elon Musk/SpaceX.

Many people believe humanitys future is looking increasingly dire. With overpopulation and climate change, our planets resources are more and more strained, and at one point, they might simply be insufficient. I mean, were using them unsustainably today, so theyre technically not efficient even now, but this is expected to become more and more of a problem as time moves on.

So if we have to go somewhere, why not go for the Moon? Its closer and weve been there before, so it should be easier.

Well, Musk argues, the Moon doesnt really count as a planet. Itdoesnt have any atmosphere whatsoever, its relatively poor in resources, and its gravity is six times weaker than that of the Earth (compared to Mars, which is just three times smaller). Furthermore, going on the Moon doesnt really make you a multi-planet civilization.

I think it is challenging to become multi-planetary on the moon because it is much smaller than a planet, Musk wrote. It does not have any atmosphere. It is not as resource-rich as Mars. It has got a 28-day day, whereas the Mars day is 24.5 hours. In general, Mars is far better-suited to ultimately to scale up to be a self-sustaining civilization.

So far, the main thing Musk has done in terms of space exploration is to reduce costs by a lot. But theres still a long way to go before we get down to a realistic figure. Musk says that with an Apollo-style approach, youd end up with an optimistic cost of about $10 billion per person. You cant build a civilization with that price tag. In fact, hes aiming for $200,000 the median cost of a house in the US. Of course, its still not clear how were going to get there.

It is a bit tricky because we have to figure out how to improve the cost of trips to Mars by five million percent, Musk cheekily commented.

He can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk? Image credits: Elon Musk/SpaceX.

Step by step, the price is steadily going down. Were not nearly close to a colony trip to Mars, but the progress is happening at a remarkable place. Still, big challenges still remain. First, wed have to deal with rocket reusability and there is significant, concrete progress in this direction. Sure, youd need different kind of rockets than the ones currently in use, but youd mostly apply the same principle at a larger scale. Then, youd have to refuel the shuttle in orbit, which SpaceX (Musks company) is also working on. Thirdly, youd have to produce the fuel on Mars, so that you dont have to ship it from Earth. This would drastically reduce the payload and the associated costs. The entire feasibility of the project might rely on this, and we have very little idea how to do it.

This is just discussing the space flight aspect of things, let alone the livability and potential terraforming that a city on Mars would require.

If everything goes according to plan, theInterplanetary Transport System (ITS) would carry 1,000,000 people to Mars; not at once but in transports of 10,000, in 40 to 100 years. Musk envisions a fun trip, with zero-gravity games and attractions for the colonists.

In the 1950s, Sci-Fi writersCyril M. Kornbluth and Frederik Pohl envisioned a dystopic futurein which humanity decides to colonize Venus. The worlds best marketers and publicity-makers were employed to make Venus, a hot horrid hell, attractive to colonists. Is this what were looking at here? Is this all marketing glitter and misleading flashes, or does Musk plan do what it says on the tin?

Musk is, as always, extremely aggressive in his plans and in his timings. He greatly relies on technology that hasnt even been invented, but might foreseeably emerge in a few years. It also might not.

The thing is we dont really know how this will play out. We might look back on his vision and say that it ignited everything, or we might simply forget it through the shroud of history. But these are not words spoken in vain. If anyone has the drive and the resources to pull something as crazy as this, its Musk. Whether or not he succeeds, someonewillsucceed, and that someone will have this kind of attitude.

There is a huge amount of risk. It is going to cost a lot, he wrote. There is a good chance we will not succeed, but we are going to do our best and try to make as much progress as possible.

You can read the full paper describing Musks plan, published in the journalNew Space, by clicking here.

Enjoyed this article? Join 40,000+ subscribers to the ZME Science newsletter. Subscribe now!

Read the original here:
Elon Musk shares his view of Mars colonization: one million people living in a self sustainable city - ZME Science

WHETHER IT WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN A BIG BALL OF CHEESE, HOME TO THE MAN IN THE MOON, OR POSSESS THE POWER TO TURN PEOPLE INTO WEREWOLVES, THE MOON HAS BEEN A PERPETUAL SOURCE OF WONDER FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO TODAY.

JUST ONE QUARTER THE SIZE OF EARTH, THE MOON IS SMALL COMPARED TO OTHER MORE SPECTACULAR BODIES IN THE UNIVERSE. BUT, SINCE ITS ONLY 240-THOUSAND MILES AWAY, A RELATIVELY SHORT DISTANCE WHEN COMPARED WITH THE VASTNESS OF SPACE, NOTHING LOOMS LARGER IN THE NIGHT SKY.

MANY SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THE MOON FORMED ABOUT 4.6 BILLION YEARS AGO. ONE THEORY IS THAT A HUGE ASTEROID, STRUCK EARTH WITH SUCH FORCE, THAT ROCK AND DEBRIS WERE SHOT INTO ORBIT AROUND THE PLANET LIKE THE RINGS OF SATURN. OVER TIME, THIS CLOUD OF FRAGMENTS CAME TOGETHER TO FORM THE MOON.

SINCE IT HAS LITTLE IF ANY ATMOSPHERE TO PROTECT IT, THE MOON HAS BEEN, AND CONTINUES TO BE, BOMBARDED BY SPACE DEBRIS. THE EVIDENCE APPEARS ALL OVER ITS DUSTY SURFACE.

ITS ENTIRE SURFACE IS POCKED WITH TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CRATERS.

IT WASNT UNTIL GALILEO POINTED A TELESCOPE AT THE MOON IN 1609 THAT WE GOT THE FIRST CLOSE LOOK AT ITS FEATURES.

The moon orbits the earth like the earth orbits the sun. Since the moon doesnt shine on its own, but only reflects light from the sun, we see more or less of it during its monthly revolution, depending on its position. We call these varying views, phases.

When the moon is on the far side of the earth, away from the sun, the moon is fully illuminated or full. As the moon travels around the earth, we can only see the sunlight falling on part of it, resulting in crescent moons and half moons.

When the moon is directly between the earth and the sun, light falls on the far side of the moon, blocked from earths view. The moon is dark, or new. IT TAKES ABOUT 29 DAYS FOR THE MOON TO COMPLETE ITS CYCLE FROM FULL TO FULL.

On rare occasions, a full moon passes through earths shadow, and the suns light is blocked. This is called a total lunar eclipse.

the moon has quite an effect on our planet. As Earth turns, the moons gravity tugs on our oceans creating the tides. Tidal forces have carved our planets coastlines, buoyed its polar icecaps, and influenced the rhythms of life.

Our nearest celestial neighbor is a lot more than a beautiful view.

Original post:
Moon 101 Video - Video -- Video Home -- National Geographic

Elon Musk Details His Vision for a Human Civilization on Mars ... Universe Today Elon Musk has never been one to keep his long-term plans to himself. Beyond the development of reusable rockets, electric cars, and revolutionizing solar ... and more »

See the original post here:
Elon Musk Details His Vision for a Human Civilization on Mars ... - Universe Today

If theres one thing you can definitively say about Elon Musk its that he most certainly does not lack ambition. The boss of SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company makes more grand plans before breakfast than you have in your entire life. His most frequent muse is to travel to Mars, which he has been a proponent of for a long while, but in a recent paper published in New Space, Musk dives deep into his vision for not just a visit to Mars, but the emergence of an entire Mars society.

The text, which is a more technical summary and explanation of the Mars colonization plans that Musk revealed during a lengthy talk at the Astronautical Congress in Mexico late last year, explores the benefits and considerable challenges of creating a sustainable city on the Martian surface.

Musk begins by explaining why Mars is really our only option when it comes to colonizing another planet within our own Solar System, axing the ideas of colonies on Venus and Mercury, as well as the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. It really only leaves us with one option if we want to become a multi-planetary civilization, and that is Mars, Musk says. We could conceivably go to our moon, and I actually have nothing against going to the moon, but I think it is challenging to become multi-planetary on the moon because it is much smaller than a planet. It does not have any atmosphere. It is not as resource-rich as Mars. It has got a 28-day day, whereas the Mars day is 24.5 hours. In general, Mars is far better-suited ultimately to scale up to be a self-sustaining civilization.

Then theres the issue of actually making Mars at least partly habitable. Musk seems to be pretty confident that this is an easy problem to solve. Mars is about half as far again from the sun as Earth is, so it still has decent sunlight, he says. It is a little cold, but we can warm it up. It has a very helpful atmosphere, which, being primarily CO2 with some nitrogen and argon and a few other trace elements, means that we can grow plants on Mars just by compressing the atmosphere.

But why would anyone want to actually live there? Well, according to Musk, it would be a blast. It would be quite fun to be on Mars because you would have gravity that is about 37 percent of that of Earth, so you would be able to lift heavy things and bound around, Musk insists. Furthermore, the day is remarkably close to that of Earth. We just need to change the populations because currently, we have seven billion people on Earth and none on Mars.

The full article dives deep into the nuances of reusable fuels, the process of actually sending a refuelable rocket to Mars, and the costs associated with actually making the trip. Its a lengthy read, so grab a cup of coffee and your thinking cap, because youre going to need it.

See more here:
Elon Musk shares plan to colonize Mars - New York Post

Mashable

Elon Musk Details His Vision For A Self-Sustaining City On Mars Forbes So why Mars, rather than the Moon, which is closer and might seem more accessible as humanity's first colony? Musk makes several arguments in favor of the Red Planet. "I think it is challenging to become multi-planetary on the moon because it is much ... Making Humans a Multi-Planetary Species - Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishersMary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers all 11 news articles »

Read the original post:
Elon Musk Details His Vision For A Self-Sustaining City On Mars - Forbes

Genetic biotechnology is usually discussed in the context of current and emerging applications here on Earth, and rightly so, since we still live exclusively in our planetary cradle. But as humanity looks outward, we ponder what kind of life we ought to take with us to support outposts and eventually colonies off the Earth.

While the International Space Station (ISS) and the various spacecraft that ferry astronauts on short bouts through space depend on consumables brought up from Earth to maintain life support, this approach will not be practical for extensive lunar missions, much less long term occupation of more distant sites. If were to build permanent bases, and eventually colonies, on the Moon, Mars, asteroids, moons of outer planets or in free space, well need recycling life support systems. This means air, water, and food replenished through microorganisms and plants, and its not a new idea.

Space exploration enthusiasts have been talking about it for decades, and its the most obvious application of microorganisms and plants transplanted from Earth. What is new, however, is the prospect of a comprehensive use ofsynthetic biology for a wide range of off-Earth outpost and colonization applications.

To this end, considering human outposts on the Moon and Mars, astudyfrom scientists basedat NASA Ames Research Center and the University of California at Berkeley examined the potential of genetic technology, not only to achieve biologically based life support systems, but also to facilitate other activities that must be sustained on colony worlds. Not discussed as often with biotechnology and space exploration in the same conversation, these other activities include creation of rocket propellant, synthesis of polymers, and production of pharmaceuticals. Together with the life support system, they paint a picture of the beckoning era of space activity that puts synthetic biology at center stage.

Although written specifically in the context of lunar and Martian outposts, the proposed biologically based technical infrastructure is just as applicable to a colony on less frequently discussed worlds, such as the dwarf planet Ceres or an outer planet moon, or to a colony that orbits in the Earth moon system.

Rocket fuel and life support

As well discuss a little later in connection with rocket fuel, the chemical elements needed oxygen and nitrogen are available in and in the vicinity of the places we might put outposts. Its just that the atoms of these elements are not in a breathable form. Rather theyre combined with atoms of other chemical elements. On Mars, for instance, theres plenty of oxygen, but not a drop is useful either to mix with propellant in rocket engines, or for humans to breath. Thats because Martian oxygen atoms are bound with carbon atoms in molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2). For humans, CO2 is a waste product; instead, we need to breathe molecular oxygen (O2) to support life functions. But, in the presence of light, photosynthetic organisms, such as plants, algae, and certain bacteria take in CO2 and water (H2O) in and release O2. In the process, they make food.

The moon also has oxygen, but in the form of silicon dioxide (SiO2) in rocks, and both the moon and Mars have sources of water. While there are chemical and electrical methods that can split up and rearrange atoms of some of these compounds without the help of living things, the gist of the NASA/Berkeley conclusion was that using life forms, especially certain microorganisms, the amount of energy and effort needed to produce a given amount of oxygen can be reduced substantially. The same is true for the production of rocket propellant and for nitrogen, which is needed both for human breathing (as N2 gas to dilute O2), to support plants (with the help of bacteria), and for certain types of rocket fuel.

Emphasizing the utility of microorganisms, the study also noted that genetic methods can increase the yields of the needed chemicals. One important example involves a type of microorganism known as cyanobacteria. Descendants of ancient bacteria that are thought to have been the first major suppliers of oxygen gas to Earths oceans and atmosphere, cyanobacteria are photosynthetic. Like plants, they consume CO2 and water, releasing O2. The genomes the collection of genes of various strains of cyanobacteria are small and their sequences are well known, making the capabilities of these organisms easy to manipulate with genetic engineering. In addition to already being able to use nitrogen directly, they can be enhanced with genes from other microbes with novel energy systems, including those with the capability of generating methane and hydrogen (both useful as rocket fuel).

Food and drug production

The NASA/Berkeley study included an economic analysis showing the power of synthetic biology to produce food mass. Natures most famous method for this, photosynthesis, is extremely efficient; thus, colonies on the Moon, Mars, other bodies, or free space colonies will emphasis plant farming, and probably algae-based nutrition as well. Youre unlikely to see big farm animals, such as cows or pigs. They take up far too much land. But, due to their high protein to mass ration, its been suggested that space colonists might learn to farm and enjoy insects such as grasshoppers. Furthermore, possibly timed appropriately for space colonization, the technology for synthetic meat beckons. Since, colonists will largely on their own, the NASA/Berkeley report also discussed using synthetic biology for pharmaceutical production.

Adapting life to its new home

Certain regions of Earth feature environments similar to those on planets and moons that humans might colonize. Especially with a division of Earth life known as the Archaea domain, there are various microorganisms that can survive in extreme cold, high salinity (thought to characterized sources of underground Martian water, or ancient water on Mars), and certain Archaea are also methane produces. Thus, while not mentioned specifically in the recent report, researchers looking at applying biological methods to space exploration are also looking into the prospect of modifying certain bacteria, such as cyanobacteria with Archaea genes.

All that mentioned above is but the tip of the iceberg. On Earth, there are organisms that resist radiation, heat, cold, and drying, even to the point of being able to live in the space vacuum. Considering potential space colonization environments compared with our homeworld in terms of gravity, radiation, and various other parameters, there are a lot of traits we might eventually genetically engineer into life forms that we bring to help them survive while they perform their task, whether circulating life support gasses, producing rocket fuel, eating up rock, or even terraforming changing the colonys entire environment to make it like Earth.

David Warmflash is an astrobiologist, physician, and science writer. Follow @CosmicEvolution to read what hes saying on Twitter.

See original here:
Deep-space travel, colonization may rely on genetically engineered life forms - Genetic Literacy Project

Back in 1969, Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, uttered his famous words: "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."

The statement has inspired ever since. More than 500 astronauts have entered space in the nearly five decades that have followed, and over 10 have landed on the moon.

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon and Armstrong's companion in the Apollo 11 mission, gave a presentation on his ideas for visiting Mars at the Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2017), which concluded on Thursday.

Global leaders in space exploration have now set their sights on Mars, including China.

Wu Yanhua, deputy head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said that the country has started an unmanned Mars probe project and plans to launch a Mars probe around 2020.

Steve Eisenhart, senior vice president of the Strategic and International Affairs of the Space Foundation of the United States, said that Aldrin has been working on his idea for close to 30 years.

According to Aldrin's plan, humans may be able to land on Mars before 2039 and set up a station there. Eisenhart and Aldrin, while not representing the U.S. government or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), agreed that Mars is a good destination for space exploration.

However, Jan Woerner, director-general of European Space Agency (ESA), said that the moon is a good stepping-stone before going to Mars.

"If we have a goal which is too far away, there might be roads in between those inspirations," said Woerner, adding that the moon is close enough to test and develop needed technology. "It's a very good test bed - then go deeper into our solar system."

Tian Yulong, secretary-general of the CNSA, said that China is now in discussions with the ESA on co-building a "moon village."

Tian said that a house on the moon could be constructed within a week with materials brought from Earth as well as moon surface materials using 3D printing technology.

Yasuyuki Ito, associate director-general of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, said that his generation was greatly affected by the Apollo program.

"Lunar exploration is our target. At the same time, we've also been discussing a Mars goal," he added.

Pascale Ehrenfreund, chair of the executive board of the German Aerospace Center, said that bringing humans to Mars is very difficult, as is raising funds for space exploration.

"We do things in steps. And the moon is one of the important steps on our way to Mars," she said.

China's Lunar Exploration China's Chang'e lunar program, named after a legendary goddess, includes three phases: orbiting, landing and returning with samples.

Liu Jizhong, director of the China Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the CNSA, said the Chang'e 5 lunar probe is expected to land in the Mons Rumker region and to take samples back to Earth at the end of the year.

The probe landing site, an isolated volcanic formation located on the northwest of the near side of the moon.

"China is planning and designing its future lunar exploration program. We will focus on the south pole region of the moon. The research on water and the permanent shadow area of the lunar south pole region will bring greater scientific discoveries," Liu said.

According to Wu Yansheng, general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), China is working on an idea for manned lunar landing.

The mission will consist of a manned spaceship, a propulsion vehicle and a lunar lander. The manned spaceship and the lunar lander will be sent into circumlunar orbit separately.

Yang Liwei, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, said that China is in the preliminary stage of its manned lunar program and estimated that Chinese astronauts will be able to walk on the moon around 2030.

Low-Cost Space Transport Without capable launch vehicles, humans are not able to go deeper into space.

China's Long March carrier rockets still have room for improvement, according to Lu Yu, director of Science and Technology Committee of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT).

He said that CALT is developing a heavy-lift launch vehicle with a payload of 140 tonnes to low Earth orbit and 50 tonnes to lunar transfer orbit.

CALT has made progress in developing reusable launch vehicles, including parachute landing and propulsion landing, said Lu.

Founded by U.S. entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2002, SpaceX aims to reduce space transportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars. It has developed the Falcon launch vehicle family and invested big in reusable technology for orbital rockets.

Aerospace transportation is now focused on low-cost ways to enter space, said Wang Guoqing, a CASC official.

Wang said leaders in space exploration have set up their own range of launch vehicles and systems, and reusing launch vehicles will become important for reducing costs.

"Breakthroughs have been achieved in reusable technology after 10 years of study. However, we still face challenges as reusable aerospace launches require high reliability and safety," he added.

Win-Win Situation Chinese and global space leaders reached an agreement on cooperation in space exploration at GLEX 2017 - no matter whether they aim for the moon or Mars.

"China is expanding cooperation with the United Nations (UN) in space exploration and will disclose projects later this year," said Yang.

The country has previously undertaken bilateral cooperation with various countries and institutions and is looking toward multilateral projects. China will carry out joint projects with the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), including astronaut training, scientific experiments aboard space stations and multilateral application of such experiments, he added.

Liu also proposed creating an open platform for cooperation in accordance with the principle of "sharing the risks and achievements" and setting up the International Union of Planetary Scientists and the International Union of Planetary Science College Students.

"Rather than a space race, I think cooperation is always good and worldwide cooperation is even better. I hope we can breach Earth's crises by having worldwide cooperation in space," said Woerner.

"We should not try to duplicate everything, and if we join forces we can do even more with the same amount of money," he added.

Source: Xinhua News

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

See more here:
Moon or Mars - humanity's next stop - Space Daily

Quick Facts

More Stats >

Earth's only natural satellite is simply called "the moon" because people didn't know other moons existed until Galileo Galilei discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610.

Size and Distance

With a radius of 1,079.6 miles (1,737.5 kilometers), the moon is less than a third the width of Earth. If Earth were the size of a nickel, the moon would be about as big as a coffee bean.

The moon is farther away from Earth than most people realize. The moon is an average of 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away. That means 30 Earth-sized planets could fit in between Earth and the moon.

The moon is slowly moving away from Earth, getting about an inch farther away each year.

Orbit and Rotation

The moon is rotating at the same rate that it revolves around Earth (called synchronous rotation), so the same hemisphere faces Earth all the time. Some people call the far side the hemisphere we never see from Earth the "dark side," but that's misleading. As the moon orbits Earth, different parts are in sunlight or darkness at different times. The changing illumination is why, from our perspective, the moon goes through phases. During a "full moon," the hemisphere of the moon we can see from Earth is fully illuminated by the sun. And a "new moon" occurs when the far side of the moon has full sunlight, and the side facing us is having its night.

The moon makes a complete orbit around Earth in 27 Earth days and rotates or spins at that same rate, or in that same amount of time. Because Earth is moving as well rotating on its axis as it orbits the sun from our perspective, the moon appears to orbit us every 29 days.

Formation

The leading theory of the moon's origin is that a Mars-sized body collided with Earth about 4.5 billion years ago. The resulting debris from both Earth and the impactor accumulated to form our natural satellite 239,000 miles (384,000 kilometers) away. The newly formed moon was in a molten state, but within about 100 million years, most of the global "magma ocean" had crystallized, with less-dense rocks floating upward and eventually forming the lunar crust.

Structure

Earth's moon has a core, mantle and crust.

The moons core is proportionally smaller than other terrestrial bodies' cores. The solid, iron-rich inner core is 149 miles (240 kilometers) in radius. It is surrounded by a liquid iron shell 56 miles (90 kilometers) thick. A partially molten layer with a thickness of 93 miles (150 kilometers) surrounds the iron core.

The mantle extends from the top of the partially molten layer to the bottom of the moons crust. It is most likely made of minerals like olivine and pyroxene, which are made up of magnesium, iron, silicon and oxygen atoms.

The crust has a thickness of about 43 miles (70 kilometers) on the moons near-side hemisphere and 93 miles (150 kilometers) on the far-side. It is made of oxygen, silicon, magnesium, iron, calcium and aluminum, with small amounts of titanium, uranium, thorium, potassium and hydrogen.

Long ago the moon had active volcanoes, but today they are all dormant and have not erupted for millions of years.

Surface

With too sparse an atmosphere to impede impacts, a steady rain of asteroids, meteoroids and comets strikes the surface of the moon, leaving numerous craters behind. Tycho Crater is more than 52 miles (85 kilometers) wide.

Over billions of years, these impacts have ground up the surface of the moon into fragments ranging from huge boulders to powder. Nearly the entire moon is covered by a rubble pile of charcoal-gray, powdery dust and rocky debris called the lunar regolith. Beneath is a region of fractured bedrock referred to as the megaregolith.

The light areas of the moon are known as the highlands. The dark features, called maria (Latin for seas), are impact basins that were filled with lava between 4.2 and 1.2 billion years ago. These light and dark areas represent rocks of different composition and ages, which provide evidence for how the early crust may have crystallized from a lunar magma ocean. The craters themselves, which have been preserved for billions of years, provide an impact history for the moon and other bodies in the inner solar system.

If you looked in the right places on the moon, you would find pieces of equipment, American flags, and even a camera left behind by astronauts. While you were there, you'd notice that the gravity on the surface of the moon is one-sixth of Earth's, which is why in footage of moonwalks, astronauts appear to almost bounce across the surface.

The temperature reaches about 260 degrees Fahrenheit (127 degrees Celsius) when in full sun, but in darkness, the temperatures plummets to about -280 degrees Fahrenheit (-173 degrees Celsius).

Atmosphere

The moon has a very thin and weak atmosphere, called an exosphere. It does not provide any protection from the sun's radiation or impacts from meteoroids.

Potential for Life

The many missions that have explored the moon have found no evidence to suggest it has its own living things. However, the moon could be the site of future colonization by humans, though there are no immediate plans to do so.

Moons

Earth's moon has no moons of its own.

Rings

The moon has no rings.

Magnetosphere

The early moon may have developed an internal dynamo, the mechanism for generating global magnetic fields for terrestrial planets, but today, the moon has a very weak magnetic field. The magnetic field here on Earth is many thousands of times stronger than the moon's magnetic field.

Exploration

Human beings have studied the moon for millennia, watching its phases change and observing eclipses both solar and lunar. During a solar eclipse, our moon moves between Earth and the sun and blocks the sunlight. In a lunar eclipse, Earth blocks the sun's light that normally lights up the moon, so we see Earths shadow over the face of the moon. From Earth, we see the moon get dark and often turn red. This happens because Earth's atmosphere scatters blue and green light while it bends yellow, orange and red wavelengths toward the moon.

The moon is the most explored body in our solar system besides Earth, having been visited by numerous spacecraft from multiple space agencies around the world. It's also the only place besides Earth where human beings have set foot.

Significant Dates:

Pop Culture

Our lunar neighbor has inspired stories since the first humans looked up at the sky and saw its grey, cratered face. Some observers saw among the craters the shape of a person's face, so stories refer to a mysterious "man in the moon." Hungrier observers compared its craters to cheese and dreamed of an entire sphere made of delicious dairy products.

The moon made its film debut in a 1902 black and white silent French film called Le Voyage Dans la Lune (a trip to the moon). And a year before astronauts walked on the moon, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) told the story of astronauts on an outpost on the moon. Decades later, it is still widely regarded as the best science fiction movie ever made.

In reality, while we do not yet have a moon colony, spacecraft have left lots of debris on the lunar surface, and astronauts have planted six American flags on the moon. But that doesn't mean the United States has claimed it; in fact, an international law written in 1967 prevents any single nation from owning planets, stars, or any other natural objects in space.

See the rest here:
Moon: About the Moon

Sacramento Bee

World-famous author has found his writing utopia outdoors, under a tarp, in Davis Sacramento Bee With his laptop on a patio table, the famed novelist imagines a unexpectedly livable future Earth, moon, Mars and more. It's where he's written several of his best-selling novels including his current New York 2140, ... His celebrated Mars trilogy ...

More here:
World-famous author has found his writing utopia outdoors, under a tarp, in Davis - Sacramento Bee

The historical re-enactment festival was sponsored by the Tri-Cities Historical Museum for more than a decade. After the museum relinquished control of the festival, the newly formed West Michigan Historical Alliance took over.

The Feast of the Strawberry Moon runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 per person or $15 per family.

The alliances executive director, Chris Hornby, said this year they want to make the festival more period correct to the 1800s.While she says they arent changing too much, there will be different entertainment, along with additions in vendors and artisans.

As far as the essence of the event, it will be mostly the same, she said.

Hornby said the alliances biggest challenge in taking over as host of the feast was getting the word out that the event was still happening.

The feast typically draws about 250 re-enactors, entertainers, demonstrators and period vendors to provide the experience of the 18th century to thousands of public visitors each June.The festival explores the history of the Native American culture, the French exploration period, English colonization and American unification of West Michigan.

Hornby also noted their efforts to keep the Feast of the Strawberry Moon family-oriented.

The festival will include activities such as candle dipping, tomahawk throwing, jugglers, music, comedy and military demonstrations.

A new element for this years festival is a Kids Day on Friday, when more than 150 homeschooled and Griffin Elementary School students will experience the feast and learn about life in the 1800s.

Excerpt from:
Feast of the Strawberry Moon returns this weekend - Grand Haven Tribune