Space yays

[comrade_general]

I'll just wait here then.

- North America

[Glaurung]

I'll just wait here then.

- North America

You shouldn't have to wait too long - just under six months. There's a lunar eclipse on 21 January 2019 for which North America is perfectly positioned - details here.

[comrade_general]

Yay

[Tusky]

Parker sun probe launching today

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45058911

[Tusky]

Parker sun probe launching today

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45058911

... make that tomorrow
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45058911

[comrade_general]

[Jubal]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45838991

New joint Europe-Japan mission to Mercury

[comrade_general]

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/astronomers-unveil-first-ever-image-of-a-black-hole/70007951

[Jubal]

The black hole stuff is super cool It's nice that they seem to have done more actively talking to the scientists on it than I remember with previous big science stories - actually letting scientists geek out about stuff on the news rather than presenting these things as "this is science, it's done by nameless scientists who are presumably some alien species" is positive I think.

[comrade_general]

This could also be a history yay.

[Jubal]

Nasa have discovered water on a sunlit part of the moon for the first time, which is pretty cool:

NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has confirmed, for the first time, water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to cold, shadowed places.

SOFIA has detected water molecules (H2O) in Clavius Crater, one of the largest craters visible from Earth, located in the Moon's southern hemisphere. Previous observations of the Moon's surface detected some form of hydrogen, but were unable to distinguish between water and its close chemical relative, hydroxyl (OH). Data from this location reveal water in concentrations of 100 to 412 parts per million – roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle of water – trapped in a cubic meter of soil spread across the lunar surface. The results are published in the latest issue of Nature Astronomy.

"We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon," said Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Now we know it is there. This discovery challenges our understanding of the lunar surface and raises intriguing questions about resources relevant for deep space exploration."

As a comparison, the Sahara desert has 100 times the amount of water than what SOFIA detected in the lunar soil. Despite the small amounts, the discovery raises new questions about how water is created and how it persists on the harsh, airless lunar surface.

Full press release is at:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-sofia-discovers-water-on-sunlit-surface-of-moon

[Othko97]

That is pretty cool, one particular part of the article that stuck out to me was:

Under NASA's Artemis program, the agency is eager to learn all it can about the presence of water on the Moon in advance of sending the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 and establishing a sustainable human presence there by the end of the decade.

This might be old news, but I'd never heard of this ambitious plan. Perhaps we have an exciting space decade to come! 

[dubsartur]

One of the many things which has been driven out of the news by interpersonal trivia is the successful collection of samples from the surface of asteroid Bennu by OSIRIS REX.  All it needs is a proper Akkadian name, or at least a Greek one!  Everyone knows you don't do any serious astronomy in a language for thugs and hucksters like Latin.

[dubsartur]

The Japanese mission to an asteroid has returned its sample to Earth! 

Areciebo may have fallen and people on birdsite are angry at the CEO of SpaceX but things are still happening in space science because of experts working together.

[Tusky]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56844601

An instrument on Nasa's Perseverance rover on Mars has made oxygen from the planet's carbon dioxide atmosphere.

This is very cool, I had no idea that this tech was being trialled. Sounds like this allows for visitors to Mars to use some version of this Moxie unit, and be able to breathe indefinitely without relying on Earth for Oxygen deliveries!