Category moon

Apr 23 2012

Harvesting the richness of space

The dim solar light flickered as the cloud of dust rose from the surface of the asteroid.  Three suited figure stood gripping tethers to hold them down against the gentle spin.  Gravity was weak.  As the dust cleared one of the figures crouched next to the excavation.  A suited hand brushed aside the dust that had settled and revealed metallic crystals that glinted in the light.  Glints that meant riches beyond imagine.

A group of technology innovators and NASA experts have teamed up to found and fund a company, Planetary Resources, to explore and commercialise the resources available on asteroids and other non-Earth territories.  An announcement and update to the website is scheduled for tomorrow, 24 April.  Visit the website here: http://www.planetaryresources.com/ See the wiki page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_Resources

James.

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Mar 22 2012

Riding the fury of Dione

He flicked closed the filter on his helmet, unbound the tether that was holding him to the spacecraft and pushed off.  It took several hours before the moon below started to grow in size.  He spent the time checking his equipment, listening to an eclectic mix of music on his helmet media system.  As the surface of the moon rushed towards him he started to feel the thrill – maybe he had miscalculated – he no longer had enough fuel left to halt his drop to the surface. Then he felt the turbulance and looked down.  He saw a white-out.  The ice volcano below had started to erupt.  With a whoop he unclipped the board on his back, attached it securely to his boots and prepared to ride the Dione eruption back into orbit.

Dr Bonnie Buratti, of NASA JPL, has announced that the surface of Dione, an ice moon of Saturn, has features that suggest it is still undergoing geological activity.  Banding and areas with a low level of impact crater disturbance point towards geological activity similar to sister moon Enceladus.  See a news article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17440136  Visit the NASA Cassini mission here: www.nasa.gov/cassini

James.

Mar 12 2012

The dance of the satellites

The surveillance craft turned as it continued its silent orbit of the Moon.  Its sensors focussed on the surface, ready to track any movement below.  Following in its orbit, invisible to the sensors of the first spacecraft, a second angular shape slowly gained ground.  As it approached it readied a concentrated burst of electromagnetic energy.

NASA has announced that the twin GRAIL Moon satellites have started their science mission.  They will track the distance between the two craft as they pass over sections of the Moon that may be more or less dense.  This will give scientists data to model the internal structure of the Moon, and hence refine theories as to its origin and evolution.  Read the press release here:  http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/mar/HQ_12-070_GRAIL_Science_Begins.html

James.

Dec 1 2011

Sci-fi spy thriller ‘Agencies’ now available worldwide in paperback and ebook.

‘Agencies’ by James Aston is now available worldwide in both paperback and ebook.  Some international links:

Paperback:

Paperback and ebook:

Ebook:

Agencies is a fast-paced sci-fi novel set in the near future covering Moon exploration, spys and espionage, an escalating series of conflicts between two well equipped security agencies and a man on a mission to recover information before it falls into the wrong hands.

Also available at other excellent bookshops.

James.

Nov 19 2011

Agencies now available in paperback from Amazon.com

The paperback version of Agencies is now available in paperback from Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Agencies-James-Aston/dp/1466374829/

Agencies is a fast-paced sci-fi novel set in the near future covering Moon exploration, spys and espionage, an escalating series of conflicts between two well equipped security agencies and a man on a mission to recover information before it falls into the wrong hands.

Also available on Kindle from all Amazon sites, it will also soon be available in paperback from other Amazon sites and excellent bookshops.

James.

Oct 3 2011

Fewer mid-sized asteroids meandering about the solar system

Earth-bound asteroids are often the bane of human societies calmly minding their own business in many Sci-Fi films.  They lurk in the outer solar system awaiting an opportune moment to fall towards the sun, only to find a blue-green planet with an oddly large moon in their way.

The WISE mission at NASA has recently released a set of obserations that suggest there are fewer of these asteroids than previously thought.  Most of the larger asteroids have already been discovered and tracked, but the smaller mid-sized asteroids up to one kilometer across are less well known.  Analysis of the observations suggest there are only 19,000 of these rather than the previously expected number 35,000.

Although fewer are now expected only 5,000 of these have been discovered.  So the JPL at NASA still has some important work left to do.

See the press release at NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/sep/HQ_11-333_NEOWISE.html

James.

Sep 6 2011

Stunning images of NASA’s footsteps on the Moon

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission has just delivered some stunning images of the landing sites of the Apollo program.  You can clearly make out the footsteps and buggy tracks still present on the Moon’s dusty surface.  To the side, sunlight glints off the remains of the crafts and experiments from Apollo 12, 14 and 17.

It has been a long time since man last stepped on the Moon – Gene Cernan being the last man to leave the moon just before Christmas in 1972.  Hopefully these images will inspire people and governments to find ways both private and public to get man back to the Moon and then further afield.

See the pictures, and enlargements here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/apollo-sites.html

James.

Aug 24 2011

Robots capture space station, eye the Moon

Robonaut 2 has come alive on the international space station.  Persuing its goal of claiming the moon for robot-kind it has made its first move.

Arriving on the space station in February, it initially kept a low profile, by remaining powered off.  But recently has been activated.  The other occupants of the space station seem unconcerned by its activation, and have engaged it in what the robot must consider to be play and games.

Robonaut 2 will demonstrate its prowess in space over the coming months and has already started to expand in to the sphere of social networking with a twitter account @AstroRobonaut and a Facebook account at http://www.facebook.com/NASArobonaut

Find out more about Robonaut 2 at Robonaut @ NASA

James.