China Chang'e-6 Moon Lander for Sample Return: Far Side South Pole Images

China Chang'e-6 Moon Lander for Sample Return: Far Side South Pole Images

Distant lunar mountains in South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin

Panorama of Chang'e-6 landing site in far side South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin

Panorama of Chang'e-6 landing site in far side in South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin

Close-up of Chang'e-6 lunar lander footpad

View of robotic arm for digging up surface samples

Detailed Moon surface view

View of Chang'e-6 lander from mini-lunar rover in far side South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin

Chang'e-6 lander unfurled and displayed a Chinese flag in lunar far side South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin

The ascender of China's Chang'e-6 probe successfully lifted off from the Moon's surface on Tuesday morning, June 4, 2024, carrying samples collected from the Moon's far side south pole—an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history. The probe completed sampling using a drill and a robotic arm. The international scientific community now awaits the return of the samples to Earth.

The Chang'e-6 ascender took off at 07:38 Beijing time and entered a preset orbit around the Moon about six minutes later, said the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The Chang'e-6 probe—consisting of an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner, like its predecessor Chang'e-5—was launched on May 3, 2024.

After a month-long journey, its lander-ascender combination touched down at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on Sunday, June 2, 2024. 

The SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude) is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.

The Chang'e-6 lander finished its intelligent and rapid sampling work, and the samples were securely stowed in a container inside the ascender of the probe as planned, the CNSA said.

During sampling and packaging, researchers conducted simulated sampling in a ground lab, based on the detection data sent back by the new Queqiao-2 lunar relay satellite, providing important support for science mission decision-making and operations at every stage.

"The mission has withstood the test of high temperatures on the far side of the Moon," the CNSA said.

Chang'e-6 adopted two methods of Moon sampling, including using a drill to collect subsurface samples and grabbing samples on the surface with a robotic arm. It automatically gathered diverse samples at different sites.

The multiple payloads installed on the lander, including the landing camera, panoramic camera, lunar soil structure detector and lunar mineral spectrum analyzer, worked well and carried out scientific exploration as planned, the CNSA said.

After the sampling was completed, a Chinese national flag carried by the lander was unfurled for the first time on the far side of the Moon.

The ascender will rendezvous and dock with the orbiter-returner combination and transfer the lunar samples to the returner. The combination will fly around the moon, waiting for the right time to return. Near the Earth, the returner will re-enter the atmosphere carrying the lunar samples. It is scheduled to land at the Siziwang Banner landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia region.

In 2020, Chang'e-5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.

Image Credit: China Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP)/China National Space Administration (CNSA)

Image Dates: June 3-4, 2024

#NASA #CNSA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #China #中国 #Moon #Change6 #嫦娥六号 #LunarSampleReturn #FarSide #SouthPole #Queqiao2Satellite #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #InternationalCooperation #France #CNES #Italy #ASI #Sweden #History #STEM #Education

Far Side Moon Images | China Chang'e-6 Science Mission

Far Side Moon Images | China Chang'e-6 Science Mission

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, unveiled four images of the Moon's far side taken by the Chang'e-6 probe, including three taken during its landing at the lunar south pole and one from the panoramic camera capturing the landing site.

The Chang'e-6 probe, comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner, was launched on May 3, 2024. The lander-ascender combination, separated from the orbiter-returner combination on May 30, touched down at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on June 2.

During its landing on Moon's far side, the Chang'e-6 probe collected lunar samples and conducted a comprehensive investigation of the landing area using its payloads.

Chang'e-6 payloads successfully completed multiple scientific tasks and a panoramic image, capturing the landing area, was promptly transmitted to the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where the valid data obtained from the payloads will be analyzed and processed.

"From this panoramic image, we can see that the landing area is very flat, indicating a well-chosen safe landing area. Looking into the distance, we can see some mountains, which are the edges of circular craters in the Apollo Basin located beyond the lunar surface," said Ren Xin, researcher of the National Astronomical Observatories.

When comparing the panoramic images of the landing areas captured by Chang'e-6 and Chang'e-5, Ren said, "The most noticeable difference is that the Chang'e-6 landing area has fewer rocks in comparison with Chang'e-5. Particularly, there was a large rock of about 30 centimeters in the Chang'e-5 landing area, believed to have been ejected from a distance. But no similarly large rocks have been discovered in Chang'e-6 landing area. Instead, only a few small rocks, measuring around three to five centimeters, are present, resulting in a smoother landing area. Nevertheless, there are still small impact craters and mud-like traces, potentially indicating remnants of ejected materials in the landing area."

The multiple payloads installed on the lander, including the landing camera, panoramic camera, lunar soil structure detector and lunar mineral spectrum analyzer, worked well and carried out scientific exploration as planned.

"The lunar soil structure detector functions as a CT scanner for the moon, using electromagnetic wave propagation to probe the shallow subsurface. Throughout its lunar operations, the detector conducted a total of four scans. The first scan occurred prior to the drilling mission, providing a preliminary understanding of the subsurface up to a depth of three meters. This scan facilitated the identification of approximate rock distribution, contributing to the successful completion of the drilling mission. The subsequent three scans were conducted after the drilling mission, employing different parameter configurations to generate distinct underground structure maps. The initial findings unveiled a notable presence of scattered rocks within a three-meter depth beneath the lunar surface," said Su Yan, another researcher of the National Astronomical Observatories.

The Chang'e-6 ascender will rendezvous and dock with the orbiter-returner combination and transfer the lunar samples to the returner. The combination will then fly around the Moon, waiting for the right time to return. Near the Earth, the returner will re-enter the atmosphere carrying the lunar samples. It is scheduled to land at the Siziwang Banner landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia region.

In 2020, Chang'e-5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.

Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency

Duration: 2 minutes, 34 seconds

Release Date: June 4, 2024

#NASA #CNSA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #China #中国 #Moon #Change6 #嫦娥六号 #LunarSampleReturn #FarSide #SouthPole #Queqiao2Satellite #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #InternationalCooperation #France #CNES #Italy #ASI #Sweden #STEM #Education #History #HD #Video

China's Chang'e-6 Probe Launches from Moon with First Far Side Lunar Samples

China's Chang'e-6 Probe Launches from Moon with First Far Side Lunar Samples

The ascender of China's Chang'e-6 probe successfully lifted off from the Moon's surface on Tuesday morning, June 4, 2024, carrying samples collected from the Moon's far side south pole—an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history. The probe completed sampling using a drill and a robotic arm. The international scientific community now awaits the return of the samples to Earth.

The Chang'e-6 ascender took off at 07:38 Beijing time and entered a preset orbit around the Moon about six minutes later, said the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The Chang'e-6 probe—consisting of an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner, like its predecessor Chang'e-5—was launched on May 3, 2024.

After a month-long journey, its lander-ascender combination touched down at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on Sunday, June 2, 2024. 

The SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude) is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.

The Chang'e-6 lander finished its intelligent and rapid sampling work, and the samples were securely stowed in a container inside the ascender of the probe as planned, the CNSA said.

During sampling and packaging, researchers conducted simulated sampling in a ground lab, based on the detection data sent back by the new Queqiao-2 lunar relay satellite, providing important support for science mission decision-making and operations at every stage.

"The mission has withstood the test of high temperatures on the far side of the Moon," the CNSA said.

Chang'e-6 adopted two methods of Moon sampling, including using a drill to collect subsurface samples and grabbing samples on the surface with a robotic arm. It automatically gathered diverse samples at different sites.

The multiple payloads installed on the lander, including the landing camera, panoramic camera, lunar soil structure detector and lunar mineral spectrum analyzer, worked well and carried out scientific exploration as planned, the CNSA said.

After the sampling was completed, a Chinese national flag carried by the lander was unfurled for the first time on the far side of the Moon.

The ascender will rendezvous and dock with the orbiter-returner combination and transfer the lunar samples to the returner. The combination will fly around the moon, waiting for the right time to return. Near the Earth, the returner will re-enter the atmosphere carrying the lunar samples. It is scheduled to land at the Siziwang Banner landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia region.

In 2020, Chang'e-5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.

Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: June 4, 2024

#NASA #CNSA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #China #中国 #Moon #Change6 #嫦娥六号 #LunarSampleReturn #FarSide #SouthPole #Queqiao2Satellite #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #InternationalCooperation #France #CNES #Italy #ASI #Sweden #STEM #Education #History #HD #Video

Expedition 71 Crew Prepares for Upcoming Spacewalks | International Space Station

Expedition 71 Crew Prepares for Upcoming Spacewalks | International Space Station

NASA astronaut and Expedition 71 flight engineer Matthew Dominick gives a behind-the-scenes look at the International Space Station’s airlock. Astronauts are scheduled to put on their spacesuits and work outside of the space station three times this summer, and Dominick demonstrates how he is helping to size the spacesuits while demonstrating some of their capabilities.

Dominick became a NASA astronaut in 2017. He is from Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of San Diego, California, and a master’s in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is an active-duty U.S. Navy astronaut. He flew to the space station as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. This is his first spaceflight.

Follow Expedition 71 Updates: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 2 minutes, 45 seconds

Release Date: June 3, 2024

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Astronauts #Astronauts #EVA #Spacewalks #FlightEngineers #HumanSpaceflight #Science #SpaceTechnology #SpaceLaboratory #Engineering #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Night of Observing at Cerro Pachón in South America

A Night of Observing at Cerro Pachón in South America

A night of observing at Cerro Pachón in Chile. The Gemini South observatory is seen in the foreground and the Simonyi Survey Telescope of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in the background (under construction).

Learn more about Gemini South: 

https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/gemini-observatory/gemini-south/

Credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / Kwon O Chul

Duration: 1 minute, 39 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 15, 2021

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #GeminiSouth #Observatory #CerroPachón #Chile #SolarSystem #Stars #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

French Scientists Celebrate China Chang'e-6's Historic Landing on Moon's Far Side

French Scientists Celebrate China Chang'e-6's Historic Landing on Moon's Far Side

A group of French scientists participating in China's Chang'e-6 mission celebrated the lunar probe's successful landing on the Moon's far side south pole, as it marked a major advance in lunar exploration and international collaboration.

The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana). 

Supported by the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, the Chang'e-6 probe made a historic touchdown in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin at 06:23 Beijing time on Sunday, June 2, 2024. This feat, achieved with the crucial support of the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, landed the probe in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an area previously unseen from Earth.

The scientists declared the successful landing on the Moon's far side a monumental achievement in space exploration.

"Well, we have been thinking about this moment for years and even more intensely for the last few months, and weeks, and days. We were watching the Moon every night almost here in Beijing, and now we are there on the far side. So actually, it went very smoothly, also, it seems that everything went perfectly," said Pierre-Yves Meslin, chief scientist of Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology.

"It's hard to land on a planet. It's very hard, especially on the Moon. Don't think it's easy, okay? And what I've seen today seems to have worked absolutely perfectly. They landed right where they wanted to. And remember, it's on the far side of the Moon. It's not the Moon we can see; it's the other side. And for that, they had to put a relay. So, there was another satellite to watch the landing because we cannot see it. So, it's quite an achievement, something we've been looking for for so many years," explained Sylvestre Maurice, professor of Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology.

The successful landing was captured in a video released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), showcasing the lander-ascender combination of Chang'e-6 touching down.

"It's a very moving time for me because, as a young boy, I had the opportunity [when] I was 10 years old to see Neil Armstrong landing on the Moon from TV, as a kid. And this is my very first landing in a control room on the Moon. And I see it from China on the far side. This is something very impressive. It is just 55 years later. But it means that a lot of things have evolved through time, and we are absolutely stunned by what has been done today. But again, it's only a start," reflected Patrick Pinet, professor of Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology.

Chang'e-6, consisting of an orbiter, a returner, a lander, and an ascender, has successfully completed a series of critical stages since its launch on May 3. These include Earth-Moon transfer, near-Moon braking, lunar orbiting, and landing descent.

The lander-ascender combination separated from the orbiter-returner on May 30, according to the CNSA.

With the probe scheduled to complete sampling within two days using a drill and a robotic arm, the scientific community awaits further results from this groundbreaking mission.

Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency

Duration: 2 minutes, 15 seconds

Release Date: June 3, 2024

#NASA #CNSA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #China #中国 #Moon #Change6 #嫦娥六号 #LunarSampleReturn #FarSide #SouthPole #Queqiao2Satellite #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #InternationalCooperation #France #CNES #Italy #ASI #Sweden #STEM #Education #History #HD #Video

Multi-color View of Young Star 177-341 W in Orion Nebula | ESO

Multi-color View of Young Star 177-341 W in Orion Nebula | ESO

This video shows images of the young stellar object 177-341 W in the Orion Nebula obtained with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument in the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Each slice corresponds to a different color or wavelength. At certain wavelengths, corresponding to the emission of elements like hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and iron, the nebula shines brightly, revealing intricate structures.

The VLT is equipped with an adaptive optics facility that corrects atmospheric turbulence, making these images sharper than Hubble’s. The system relies on four lasers to create artificial “stars” high up in the atmosphere. Their twinkling is monitored in real time. The lasers have a wavelength of 589 nanometers, and MUSE has a special filter that blocks the light around that wavelength, as shown in the video, so that the lasers do not contaminate the scientific data.

Credit: ESO/M.-L. Aru et al./L. Calçada

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: June 3, 2024

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StellarObject #177341W #Proplyds #Nebulae #OrionNebula #Orion #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophysics #VLT #AdaptiveOptics #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Location of Young Star 177-341 W in Orion Nebula | Hubble & VLT Views

Location of Young Star 177-341 W in Orion Nebula | Hubble & VLT Views

The young stellar object 177-341 W, as seen with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT, top inset) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST, bottom inset). This object is located in the Orion Nebula, shown here in the background as seen with the VLT Survey telescope. The VLT’s adaptive optics facility corrects the blur caused by atmospheric turbulence. The VLT image is the sharpest ever taken of this object. It appears in a new paper led by Mari-Liis Aru (ESO) presenting MUSE observations of many proplyds in Orion. It will help astronomers understand how stars and planetary systems form in these stellar nurseries.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/M. L. Aru et al./R. O'Dell/G. Beccari

Release Date: June 3, 2024

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StellarObject #177341W #Proplyds #Nebulae #OrionNebula #StellarNurseries #Orion #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophysics #VLT #Chile #Europe #Infographic #STEM #Education

Young Star 177-341 W in Orion Nebula | European Southern Observatory

Young Star 177-341 W in Orion Nebula | European Southern Observatory

Young stars are surrounded by a disc of gas and dust—the building materials for planets. When other very bright and massive stars are present nearby, their light heats the young star’s disc, stripping away part of its material. The teardrop-shaped object in this image, 177-341 W, is in the Orion Nebula. The stars eroding away the disc of 177-341 W are out of the frame past the upper-right corner; when their radiation clashes with the material around the young star, it creates the bright, bow-like structure seen here in yellow. The tail extending from the star towards the lower-left corner is material being dragged away from 177-341 W by the stars out of the field of view. This type of objects—ionized protoplanetary discs—are known as “proplyds”.

This observation is presented in a new paper led by Mari-Liis Aru (ESO) and taken with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. The colors shown in this image map different elements like hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. However, this is just a small fraction of all the data gathered by MUSE. It actually takes thousands of images at different colors or wavelengths simultaneously. This allows astronomers to study the physical properties of protoplanetary discs in great detail, including the amount of mass that they lose. This new paper presents MUSE observations of many other proplyds in Orion, part of a project led by Carlo F. Manara (ESO). It will help astronomers understand how stars and planetary systems form in these stellar nurseries.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/M. L. Aru et al.

Release Date: June 3, 2024

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StellarObject #177341W #Proplyds #Nebulae #OrionNebula #Orion #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophysics #VLT #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3059: A Broad and Narrow Galactic View | Hubble

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3059: A Broad and Narrow Galactic View | Hubble

This picture features the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3059. It lies about 57 million light-years from Earth. The data used to compose this image were collected by Hubble in May 2024, as part of an observing program that studied a number of galaxies. All the observations were made using the same range of filters: partially transparent materials that allow only very specific wavelengths of light to pass through. 

Filters are used extensively in observational astronomy, and can be calibrated to allow either extremely narrow or somewhat broader ranges of light through. Narrow-band filters are invaluable from a scientific perspective because certain light wavelengths are associated with specific physical and chemical processes. For example, under particular conditions, hydrogen atoms are known to emit red light with wavelength value of 656.46 nanometers. Red light at this wavelength is known as H-alpha emission, or the ‘H-alpha line’. It is very useful to astronomers because its presence acts as an indicator of certain physical processes and conditions; it is often a tell-tale sign of new stars being formed, for example.

Thus, narrow-band filters calibrated to allow H-alpha emission through can be used to identify regions of space where stars are forming. 

Such a filter was used for this image, the narrow-band filter called F657N or the H-alpha filter. The F stands for filter, and the N stands for narrow. The numerical value refers to the peak wavelength (in nanometres) that the filter lets through. The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that 657 is very close to the 656.46 H-alpha line’s wavelength. Data collected using five other filters contributed to this image as well, all of which were wide-band filters; meaning that they allow a wider range of light wavelengths through. This is less useful for identifying extremely specific lines (such as the H-alpha line) but still enables astronomers to explore relatively specific parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. In addition, collectively the information from multiple filters can be used to make beautiful images such as this one.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy seen face-on, so that its many arms and its glowing, bar-shaped core can be easily seen. The arms are filled with bluish patches of older stars, pink patches where new stars are forming, and dark threads of dust. A few bright stars with cross-shaped diffraction spikes lie in the foreground.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker

Release Date: June 3, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3059 #SpiralGalaxy  #BarredSpiral #Carina #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

What's in the Night Sky Tonight: June 2024 | BBC Sky at Night Magazine

What's in the Night Sky Tonight: June 2024 | BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal what's in the night sky this month, including how to find Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, how to locate the T Coronae Borealis nova event, Ceres at opposition and noctilucent clouds.

00:00 Intro

00:15 Inner planets

06:12 Outer planets

09:52 The Moon

10:59 Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

14:56 Daytime Moon

16:36 Summer Solstice

17:05 Einstein crater, Mare Orientale

18:49 Ceres at opposition

19:34 Noctilucent clouds

20:55 Arcturus and Boötes

21:50 T Coronae Borealis nova

25:31 Spica and Antares

27:27 Ophiuchus

Video Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Duration: 30 minutes

Release Date: May 29, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Planets #SolarSystem #Comets #Stars #Constellations #StarClusters #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Universe #Skywatching #BBC #UK #Britain #Europe #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Nebula RCW 36 in Vela: Cloudy with a Chance of Dust | ESO

Nebula RCW 36 in Vela: Cloudy with a Chance of Dust | ESO

This cloud-strewn new image of RCW 36 (or Gum 20) was captured by the European Southern Observatory’s Focal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS). It shows one of the sites of massive-star formation closest to our Solar System, about 2,300 light-years away. Located in the constellation of Vela (The Sails), the RCW 36 emission nebula is only part of an even larger star formation complex, known as the Vela Molecular Ridge.

Areas in the clouds of RCW 36 are dense enough to block out background light, creating patches and wisps of inky black. Despite the dark appearance of these clouds, they are the only places in the Universe in which star formation occurs; clumps of molecular hydrogen and cosmic dust collapse and come together to form stars encircled by small families of planets, as in our own Solar System.

FORS is mounted on European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), one of the world's most advanced astronomical observatories. This image was selected as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems program, an initiative that produces images of scientifically interesting and visually attractive objects using ESO telescopes for the purposes of education and public outreach. The program makes use of telescope time that cannot be used for science observations. All data collected may also be suitable for scientific purposes, and are made available to astronomers through ESO’s science archive.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: Dec. 9, 2019

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #EmissionNebula #RCW36 #Gum20 #Vela #Constellation #MilkyWay #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS2 #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

The Seagull Nebula in Monoceros | Kitt Peak National Observatory

The Seagull Nebula in Monoceros | Kitt Peak National Observatory

The Seagull Nebula (also called Gum 1 and IC 2177) is located in the constellation Monoceros. It is estimated to be 3,800 light years away. 

This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program during 2014 at Kitt Peak Visitor Center.

Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Adam Block

Release Date: June 6, 2014

#NASA #Gemini #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #Gum1 #IC2177 #Stars #Monoceros #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Observatory #Telescope #Optical #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #KittPeak #KPNO #Tucson #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Van den Bergh 93 Nebula in Monoceros | Kitt Peak National Observatory

Van den Bergh 93 Nebula in Monoceros | Kitt Peak National Observatory

Curtains of gas and dust dramatically open here to reveal the inner region of this star-forming region. Unceremoniously named, bright star SAO 152320 shines with intense light in the center of this field. Clouds of gas glow strongly and dust shrinks quickly under its radiative prowess. This vista lies some 4,000 light years away in the Milky Way galaxy towards the constellation of Monoceros. This is a portion of a much larger nebula called Gum 1.

This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.

The Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is a United States astronomical observatory located on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, 88 kilometers (55 mi) west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. With more than twenty optical and two radio telescopes, it has one of the largest installations of astronomical instruments in the Earth's northern hemisphere.

Kitt Peak National Observatory was founded in 1958. It is home to what was the largest solar telescope in the world, and many large astronomical telescopes of the late 20th century in the United States.

The observatory was administered by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) from the early 1980s until 2019, after which it was overseen by NOIRLab.

Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Bill Uminski and Cyndi Kristopeit/Adam Block

Release Date: June 13, 2014

#NASA #Gemini #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #Gum1 #Stars #Star #SAO152320 #VandenBergh93 #Monoceros #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Observatory #Telescope #Optical #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #KittPeak #KPNO #Tucson #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Rotating The Moon | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Rotating The Moon | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

No one, presently, sees the Moon rotate like this. This is because the Earth's moon is tidally locked to the Earth, showing us only one side. Given modern digital technology, however, combined with many detailed images returned by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a high resolution virtual Moon rotation movie has been composed. The featured time-lapse video starts with the standard Earth view—the near side of the Moon. Quickly, though, Mare Orientale, a large crater with a dark center that is difficult to see from the Earth, rotates into view just below the equator. 

From an entire lunar month condensed into 24 seconds, the video clearly shows that the Earth side of the Moon contains an abundance of dark lunar maria, while the lunar far side is dominated by bright lunar highlands. Currently, over 32 new missions to the Moon are under active development from multiple countries and companies, including NASA's Artemis program. They aim to land people on the Moon again within the next few years.

This year, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) celebrates its 15th anniversary orbiting the Moon (2009-2024). This mission has given scientists the largest volume of data ever collected by a planetary science mission at NASA. Considering that success and the continuing functionality of the spacecraft and its instruments, NASA awarded the mission an extended mission phase to continue operations. This is LRO's 5th extended science mission (ESM5). LRO continues to be one of NASA's most valuable tools for advancing lunar science.

Video Credit: NASA, LRO, Arizona State University (ASU)

Duration: 24 seconds

Release Date: June 2, 2024

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China's Chang'e-6 Probe Returns First Data from South Pole on Moon's Far Side

China's Chang'e-6 Probe Returns First Data from South Pole on Moon's Far Side

The first batch of scientific data has been sent back from China's Chang'e-6 lander-ascender spacecraft after its successful landing in Apollo crater of the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far side of the Moon on Sunday morning, June 2, 2024. After the landing, the probe is scheduled to complete sampling within two days. It has two methods for Moon sampling: using a drill to collect subsurface samples and grabbing samples on the surface with a robotic arm. The Chang'e-6 mission is supported by China's two lunar communications satellites—Queqiao-1 and Queqiao-2, launched in 2018 and 2024, respectively.

At the same time, scientific explorations including on-site investigations and analysis of the landing area on the far side of the Moon and the structure of lunar soil will be carried out to deepen the understanding of the Moon's origin and evolutionary history. For the first time in human history, the Chang’e-6 lunar mission, as part of the China Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP), will collect far side lunar soil samples and return them to Earth, as well as conduct scientific measurements of the lunar environment. 

The SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude) is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.

Chang'e-6 consists of an orbiter, a returner, a lander and an ascender. Since its launch on May 3 this year, it has gone through several stages, such as Earth-moon transfer, near-moon braking, lunar orbiting and landing descent. The lander-ascender combination separated from the orbiter-returner combination on May 30 said the China National Space Agency (CNSA).

Upon receiving the data from Chang'e-6, Chinese scientific research personnel at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) have been analyzing and researching them.

"There are two pictures on the screen. One was captured during the landing process, and the other was taken after the safe landing by the landing camera, one of the essential instruments of Chang'e-6. This camera was installed at the bottom of the lander and began working during the descent phase. Through automatic exposure, it took a photo every second, capturing data that ensured a safe landing and documented the entire landing process technically. Scientifically, the data obtained by the landing camera can help us analyze the geological background and landforms of the landing area, providing rich background information for analyzing the returned samples," said Liu Jianjun, deputy commander of the Chang'e-6 mission.

Additionally, Chang'e-6 carries three other instruments to facilitate scientific research.

"There are three other scientific payloads installed on the Chang'e-6 lander. One is the foreground camera, which captures high-definition images of the landing and sampling areas. Another is the mineral spectral analysis instrument, which obtains spectral data at the sampling area to aid in analyzing the mineral composition there. The last one is the structural detector, installed at the bottom, which detects the structure of the soil beneath the moon's surface and provides information for further drilling and sampling procedures," said Zuo Wei, chief engineer of the Chang'e-6 mission.

Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: June 2, 2024

#NASA #CNSA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #China #中国 #Moon #Change6 #嫦娥六号 #LunarSampleReturn #FarSide #SouthPole #Queqiao2Satellite #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #InternationalCooperation #France #CNES #Italy #ASI #Sweden #STEM #Education #History #HD #Video