Has years of research by lunar probes led to the discovery of water on the moon?

Three lunar probes have astounded scientists as the chemical compounds of water have been discovered all over the lunar surface.

We are not talking about amounts of water that would sustain life on the surface. But it could hold enough to supply explorers with drinking water and fuel.

The discovery has made scientists change their minds about the moon being a dead rock in space. There is something actually going on there.


Recent discoveries have shown that the moon has water all over it.


The first discover came from the Indian satellite, Chandrayaan-1. Scientists at first dismissed it as an error. Chandrayaan-1 ended it’s mission back on August 29th and slammed into the lunar surface.

After not being able to find the error, NASA’s deep impact probe, which was doing a flyby of the moon on the way to a comet, scanned for the water and it as well detected it.


NASA will be launching a Centaur Rocket into the lunar south Pole in late October, and studying what is kicked up with the LCROSS satellite.


Finally, NASA looked at records from the Cassini probe 10 years ago. Cassini is currently circling Saturn. After analyzing the data from it’s flyby of the moon on the way there, the water was detected then as well.

When asked about if water was detected from the moon rocks returned from the Apollo missions, NASA said that water was detected but was dismissed as being contaminated from the Earth’s environment.

The next step is to find out how it gets there. One idea is that solar wind carrying hydrogen atoms bond with oxygen atoms with surfaces. This means that water could exist in more places in our solar system then we realize.

Also, NASA is going to use it’s LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) to detect the findings impacting a Centaur rocket it will be launching into the lunar south pole in late October.

India launches new satellite to study the oceans of the earth

India successfully launched a new satellite that will study the oceans of the earth.

The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Spce Center at 11:51 AM India time (2:21 AM EDT.)


PSLV C-14, carrying the Oceansat 2 satellite, launched early Wednesday morning from India.


The satellite, Oceansat 2, was deployed from the four-stage launch vehicle about 17 minutes after liftoff. to its orbit of 447 miles high. Six nano-satellites were also launched as well.

While monitoring oceanic environmental data such as water pollution and fish population, instruments will be used to monitor wind speed and direction. Scientists hope this will aid in the study and prediction of hurricanes and tropical storms.


Oceansat 2 will use it's instruments to monitor the environment of the oceans, as well as weather patterns.


Both scientists in India and other countries will be using the data from Oceansat 2.

Ares I-X test flight moved up

NASA’s test model of the rocket that will take us back to the Moon and onto Mars, will launch on a test flight on October 27^th, 4 days earlier then expected.

The test flight of the rocket in this schematic shows that Ares I-X will fly to a height of 150,000 feet before falling back to Earth

The possibility was made after engineers completed their work on the booster ahead of schedule.

Currently they are running a countdown simulation. NASA mission managers still have to finalize the sooner launch date. The test flight was originally scheduled for October 31^st.

Next shuttle flight, STS-129, will take Atlantis to the I.S.S. in November

STS-129, the next space shuttle flight, will take space shuttle Atlantis and her crew to the International Space Station. This is the 31^st shuttle flight to the International Space Station, and will feature 3 spacewalks.

STS-129 Mission Patch

Commander Charlie Hobaugh, who first flew on STS-104 in 2001, will lead STS-129. Pilot Barry E. “Butch” Wilmore will be making his first trip to space. Mission Specialists will be Randy Bresnik, Michael Foreman, Leland Melvin, and Robert Satcher.

STS-129 will also be delivering parts to I.S.S. including a spare gyroscope.

STS-129 Crew. Front-left: C. Hobaugh, Front-right: B. Wilmore, Center-Left: L. Melvin, Center-right: R. Bresnik, Back-left: M. Foreman, Back-right: R. Satcher

Following Carbon Dioxide with Google Earth

In an era when imaging is becoming more technically advanced, it is only natural that science utilizes this technology to its fullest potential. One of these methods is using it to monitor the behaviors and effects of greenhouse gases.

Google Earth, a software application which allows users to fly around a zoom in on key points on the surface of the Earth, Moon, and now Mars, is now presenting scientific data on carbon dioxide using its KML format.



A Google Earth application reveals carbon dioxide.

The work has seen promising results with research being done by Tyler Erickson, a geospatial researcher at Michigan Tech Research Institute, and Anna Michalak of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor who develops computer that trace carbon dioxide from when it both enters and leaves the planet’s atmosphere.

Being able to predict carbon patterns can lead to changes in environmental policy. Back in June, Michalak presented this research at a NASA symposium in Washington D.C.

The tracks are shown in green and red. Green tracks indicate that the carbon dioxide is at a lower part of the atmosphere, and can be affected by vegetation and landscape. The red tracks indicate higher atmosphere carbon dioxide that are immune to these low altitude influences.

The measurement’s themselves come from a series of towers across the United States equipped with NOAA instruments that can measure carbon dioxide at individual locations.

Monitoring tower at Mauna Loa, Hawaii.

Finding the source of the carbon dioxide can take some backtracking. It involves finding large packets of carbon dioxide, and looking at the weather patterns that led the carbon dioxide to where it is.

Through Erikson’s mapping on Google Earth, he was able to make tracking the gas particles less of an elusive task to scientists everywhere. For this work, Erikson was declared one of Google’s winners of 2009.

Next, we will see scientist using these models, and developing a more accurate particle tracking, leading to a better environmental policy.

Jupiter's Moons create incredible light display on gas giant's surface

The largest of Jupiter’s moons Ganymede has one unique characteristic. It is the only moon to have a strong magnetic field. This field generates incredible aurora’s that have been discovered using images from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The orbits of both Ganymede and another of Jupiter’s moons, Io, generate bright spots as they orbit the planet and interact with the plasma on it’s plasma surface.

While the imprint Ganymede makes on Jupiter is larger then the moon itself, the imprint does correspond to magnetic sphere around Ganymede. In a similar matter, Io’s imprint corresponds to the measurement of charged particles ejected from Io’s many active volcanoes.

Aurora crowns. Jupiter's North Pole

In a presentation to the European Planetary Science Congress, astrophysicist Denis Grodent of Belgium stated: “By analyzing the exact locations of these features and how their shape and brightness changes as Io and Ganymede move in their orbit around Jupiter, we have created the most detailed picture to date of how Jupiter and these moons are electromagnetically interconnected.”

Grodent and his team believe that they are now further ahead in understanding the variations between Jupiter’s plasma and the Ganymede’s magnetic field, but more research is still required.

Not On Earth Launches Today

Today we are launching Not On Earth. Our goal is to be the exclusive source for news regarding space exploration on Blogger. We will be bringing you news from all aspects of the space exploration industry. Conferences, launches, mission coverage, and new discoveries are just a few of the topics we will cover as we watch humanity's continuing exploration of this great unknown.



Space Shuttle Atlantis launches to complete mission STS-125, the final servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope, on May 11, 2009 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.