Lunar LADEE A new robotic explorer rocketed into space last week. The primary mission of NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE): to probe the mysteries of moondust. Although four decades have passed since Apollo astronauts stepped on the moon’s surface, little is known about the predawn glow they witnessed on the horizon. Astronomers have speculated that the lunar glow is due to light scattering off a thin dust cloud hovering over the surface. If that’s the case, what holds the dust aloft in the near absence of an Earthlike atmosphere? And why does it smell like gunpowder? In one month, the LADEE will start sending back its findings via a new laser communications system that may radically increase the amount of data researchers can harvest from space missions. To learn more, read the News story here: scim.ag/1a3yo0G [Image Credit: NASA]
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 13:34:44 +0000
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