Moons

A cross-section of Enceladus, showing a summary of the processes SwRI scientists modeled in the Saturn moon

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An article published in the journal “Icarus” reports a study on the conditions under the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which indicate possible chemical processes that could support the metabolism of life forms. A team of researchers used data collected by the Cassini space probe to create a model of the chemical processes taking place in the Enceladus’ underground ocean, and concluded that there are possible redox chemical reactions that can fuel the metabolism of life forms.

The Chang'e 5 mission's capsule with the Moon samples (Image courtesy CGTN)

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It was night in China when the capsule carrying the Moon samples taken during the Chang’e-5 mission landed in the Siziwang Banner, meaning an autonomous county of Inner Mongolia. The lander with the return module landed on the Moon on December 1, spent about two days collecting samples, and the return module took off to transport the samples to orbit and start the voyage back to Earth. Recovery personnel found the capsule, which will be transported to a laboratory in Beijing, where operations will begin to open it without contaminating its contents.

The Moon's surface seen by the Chang'e-5's lander, including its shadow (Photo courtesy China National Space Administration/CLEP)

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It was night in China when the lander and ascent vehicle of the Chinese Chang’e-5 mission successfully completed their Moon landing maneuvers. The various modules that make up Chang’e-5 were launched when it was November 24 in China and reached the Moon’s orbit in recent days. At that point, a series of maneuvers begun to make its orbit circular, the modules that were scheduled to land separated, and everything went well. Very soon, the lander was scheduled to begin its excavation work to collect soil and subsoil samples that will be sent into orbit to be returned to Earth around mid-December.

The Moon, water, and the SOFIA flying telescope

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Two articles published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” report as many studies on the presence of water on the Moon. A team of researchers used the SOFIA flying telescope to find direct evidence of the presence of water molecules even in regions other than the polar ones. Another team examined the so-called cold traps, regions in the shadows on the lunar surface where there’s perennial darkness that can allow the presence of water ice, mapping their distribution. In the end, the amount of water present on the Moon may be far greater than that known from previous research. However, there are still various questions, starting with the possibility that it’s partly present in glass beads and therefore not immediately usable in space missions.