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☆ Japan’s ‘Moon Sniper’ returns images after third long, lunar night
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Temperatures during the lunar night can plunge to minus 208 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 133 degrees Celsius), according to NASA. And Moon Sniper wasn’t expected to withstand even one lunar night, which is a period of darkness on the moon lasting about two weeks. Riding out the lunar nightThe mission team communicated with Moon Sniper on April 23 after the lander rode out its third lunar night. From JAXAIn addition to surviving the extreme cold of the lunar night, Moon Sniper has also endured the searing temperatures of the lunar day, which can reach 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121 degrees Celsius), according to NASA. On February 29, after seven days of operating, Odie went to sleep because it wasn’t intended to survive the lunar night.

Persons: CNN —, Smart, SLIM, ’, Moon, ”, Odysseus, Odie ”, Odie, “ Odie, Jack Fischer, Fischer, ” Fischer, “, I’m, Vikram, Artemis, Noah Petro, Artemis III, ” Petro Organizations: CNN, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA, JAXA, Reconnaissance, Artemis, Apollo Locations: Japan, Houston, India, China

☆ China’s Chang’e-6 moon probe stands by for launch as space race with US heats up
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Marc Stewart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

China’s planned 53-day mission would see the Chang’e-6 lander touch down in a gaping crater on the moon’s far side, which never faces Earth. China became the first and only country to land on the moon’s far side during its 2019 Chang’e-4 mission. Ambitious missionThe Chang’e-6 probe will be a key test for China’s space capabilities in its effort to realize leader Xi Jinping’s “eternal dream” of building the country into a space power. This time, to communicate with Earth from the moon’s far side, Chang’e-6 must rely on the Queqiao-2 satellite, launched into lunar orbit in March. This time, China has said the Chang’e-6 mission will carry scientific instruments or payloads from France, Italy, Pakistan and the European Space Agency.

Persons: China’s, “, Ge Ping, Xi Jinping’s, James Head, Luo Yunfei, Bill Nelson, –, ” Nelson Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China, Space Administration’s, of Lunar Exploration, Space Engineering, Brown University, China News Service, Luna, NASA, European Space Agency Locations: China, Hong Kong, Hainan, United States, Russia, Chang’e, India, Japan, Texas, France, Italy, Pakistan

☆ February full moon peaks this weekend
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —February’s full moon, known as the snow moon, is set to peak on Saturday, shining bright around the world in the night sky. It’ll just be a little bit smaller than your average full moon that you look up at.”The full moon phase occurs when the moon, Earth and the sun are in alignment, in that order. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s face. A total solar eclipse won’t be visible across the contiguous United States again until August 2044. A lunar eclipse, which causes the moon to look dark or dimmed, occurs when the sun, Earth and moon align so that the moon passes into Earth’s shadow.

Persons: CNN —, “ It’s, ”, Rachel Klima, “, ” Klima, Klima, “ We’re, Buck, Lyrids, Capricornids Organizations: CNN, Farmers, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics, American Meteor Society, Taurids Locations: United States, Laurel , Maryland, Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, North, East Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, Earth’s, Asia

☆ Meet Apollo, the ‘iPhone’ of humanoid robots
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The design for Apptronik’s latest humanoid robot, named Apollo, was unveiled on Wednesday. Apollo is Apptronik's latest humanoid robot. Rather than highly specialized robots that can only serve one purpose, Apptronik wanted Apollo to be the “iPhone of robots,” Cardenas said. Courtesy ApptronikBefore Apollo, Apptronik focused on what it called a Quick Development humanoid robot. To the moon and beyondApptronik serves as one of NASA’s partners that works on humanoid robot designs.

Persons: Argodesign, Apollo, “, ”, Jeff Cardenas, Bill Stafford, ” Cardenas, Shaun Azimi, NASA’s, Cardenas, Apptronik, Nick Paine, ” Paine, Paine, ” Azimi, Artemis VI, Azimi Organizations: Austin , Texas CNN, Austin, University of Texas, NASA, JSC, DARPA, Space Center, International Locations: Austin , Texas, Houston, Australia, uncrewed, Apptronik

☆ Lockheed gets US defense contract to develop nuclear-powered spacecraft
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 26 (Reuters) - Weapons maker Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) has been awarded a contract by a U.S. Department of Defense agency to develop a nuclear-powered spacecraft for the purposes of exploration and national defense, the company said on Wednesday. Lockheed Martin said the project is an advancement in propulsion technology – from chemical propulsion engines to nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) engines. "These more powerful and efficient nuclear thermal propulsion systems can provide faster transit times between destinations. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded the contract to Lockheed under a project called Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO). The in-space flight demonstration of a nuclear thermal rocket engine vehicle will take place no later than 2027, Lockheed said.

Persons: Lockheed Martin, Jeff Bezos, Kirk Shireman, Kannaki, Shailesh Organizations: Lockheed, U.S . Department of Defense, Origin, Elon, SpaceX, Lunar, Lockheed Martin Space, Research Projects Agency, DARPA, Agile Cislunar, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

TOKYO, July 21 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor (7203.T) plans to use regenerative fuel cell technology to power a manned lunar rover, executives said on Friday, raising the prospect of eventually using the moon's water ice as an energy source in the future. It is participating in NASA's Artemis programme and plans to have an astronaut at a lunar space station called Gateway as part of that in the latter half of the 2020's. Toyota has teamed up with Japan's space agency since 2019 to develop the manned lunar rover - which it dubbed the Lunar Cruiser - that they hope can be put on the moon in 2029. NASA expects Japan to provide a lunar rover with a 2029 target launch date as a contribution to the Artemis programme, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said in presentation materials on Friday. A fuel cell vehicle uses an electric motor like an electric vehicle but draws power from a fuel stack where hydrogen is separated by a catalyst to produce electricity.

Persons: Fumio, Ken Yamashita, Artemis, there's, Yamashita, Daniel Leussink, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Toyota, Cruiser, NASA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan

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