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Space Facts & Information
'Significant' Amount Of Water Found On Moon
7:33pm UK, Friday November 13, 2009
A "significant" amount of water has been found on the Moon, according to Nasa.
Preliminary data from a Moon probe "indicates the mission successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater," Nasa said.
"The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the Moon," it added in a statement.
The data was found after Nasa sent two spacecraft crashing into the lunar surface last month in a dramatic experiment to probe for water.
One rocket slammed into the Cabeus crater, near the Moon's southern pole, at around 5,600mph.
It was followed four minutes later by a spacecraft equipped with cameras to record the impact.
Mission was launched in October
"We are ecstatic," said Anthony Colaprete, project scientist and principal investigator for the LCROSS mission.
"Multiple lines of evidence show water was present in both the high angle vapor plume and the ejecta curtain created by the LCROSS Centaur impact.
"The concentration and distribution of water and other substances requires further analysis, but it is safe to say Cabeus holds water."
Scientists had previously theorized that, except for the possibility of ice at the bottom of craters, the moon was totally dry.
Finding water on Earth's natural satellite is a major breakthrough in space exploration.
"We're unlocking the mysteries of our nearest neighbour and, by extension, the solar system," said Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at Nasa headquarters in Washington.
1:50pm UK, Friday April 23, 2010
A top-secret rocket has been launched by the US military amid rumours its purpose is to perform experiments for a space weapons programme.
Officially the project will test a new space shuttle, the X-37B, that will look at safer and cheaper ways to return spacecraft to earth.
But the details of its payload, experiments and orbital operations have all been classified.
The real purpose of the mission could be to position satellites and other types of surveillance, according to military and security sources.
The launch is a military project being controlled by the US Air Force Space Command - not NASA.
A military use would explain why the Pentagon has invested up to hundreds of millions of dollars in the craft.
The vehicle should "provide an 'on-orbit laboratory' test environment to prove new technology and components before those technologies are committed to operational satellite programmes", according to the US Air Force.
Unlike current shuttles, it can remain in orbit for up to nine months, but cannot carry people.
The X-37B will eventually land in California, but no-one knows how long its first mission will take.
"In all honesty, we don't know when it's coming back," said Gary Payton of the US Air Force.
The spacecraft would aid "development programs that will provide capabilities for our warfighters in the future", he added.
Once in orbit the shuttle will be powered by solar panels and lithium-ion batteries.
If its flight is successful a second vehicle will be launched next year.
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