Tag

Water Ice

All articles tagged with #water ice

science5 days ago•2 min saved

China delays Chang’e-7 lunar mission after launch-condition setback

China has postponed the Chang’e-7 lunar mission after a comprehensive assessment found the launch conditions were not met, meaning it cannot take place within this year’s window. The mission, which would launch from Wenchang and search for water ice in permanently shadowed lunar craters near the south pole, was paused in the name of prudence and ensuring absolute mission success, with officials offering no specific reasons for the delay beyond the decision.

via NBC News|

#change-7 #china #lunar-exploration

space7 days ago•3 min saved

China’s Chang’e-7 gears up to hunt lunar ice at the south pole

China plans to launch the Chang’e-7 mission—an uncrewed lander, rover and hopping probe—to the Moon’s south pole to search permanently shadowed craters for water ice, a key resource for future bases. Slated for a November-style window from Wenchang on a Long March 5, the mission will test technology to access ice, inform possible joint studies with Russia, and lay groundwork for a crewed lunar landing by 2030 amid NASA’s Artemis program and other national efforts.

via NBC News|

#china #exploration #moon

science8 days ago•5 min saved

China’s Chang’e-7 targets lunar water ice with a leap-enabled explorer

China plans the Chang’e-7 lunar mission to search for accessible water ice near the Moon’s south pole using an orbiter, lander, rover and a hopping vehicle (with the Queqiao-2 relay satellite already in place). The mission aims to locate where the ice resides, its form and concentration, and assess how feasible it is to access—marking a shift from mere exploration to resource assessment, in parallel with NASA’s CLPS approach and set against broader plans for sustained lunar activity.

via The Conversation|

#change-7 #china #lunar-exploration

space1 month ago•10 min saved

Mercury’s Polar Ice: How Billions of Tonnes Stay Frozen in Eternal Shadow

Mercury can reach about 430°C in sunlit areas, but its poles host billions of tonnes of water ice tucked in permanently shadowed craters. The planet’s near-absence of atmosphere and the geometry of crater shadows keep these deposits cold and insulated, so they persist rather than melt. The ice is likely delivered by comets, water-rich asteroids, or solar-wind interactions over time, not formed in place. MESSENGER measurements suggest a mass range from about 20 billion to 1 trillion tonnes, and the upcoming BepiColombo mission should refine these figures. The ice is better viewed as a frozen archive of volatile delivery rather than a subsurface ocean.

via Space Daily|

#bepicolombo #mercury #messenger

sciencespace1 month ago•11 min saved

Mercury’s permanently shadowed polar floors cradle water ice, revealed by MESSENGER data

Mercury’s cold polar crater floors hold water ice on permanently shadowed terrain, a conclusion supported by MESSENGER (2012) via radar-bright deposits, a hydrogen signal from neutron measurements, exposed versus buried ice seen in laser altimetry, and thermal models. Ice can be exposed in some areas and buried under a thin, dark cover in others; deposits may range from metres to tens of metres thick, and their age and origin remain topics of study, with delivery likely from comets/asteroids over hundreds of millions of years. The upcoming BepiColombo mission will map these regions in greater detail but will not land in the cold traps.

via Space Daily|

#mercury #messenger #polar-craters

space1 month ago•14 min saved

Titan's Landscape: Water Ice Mountains and Ethane Seas

Cassini radar reveals Titan as a world where water ice forms the bedrock, while seas of liquid methane and ethane—and dark, tholin-coated beaches—dot its landscape; methane rain and wind drive a seasonal hydrocarbon cycle that reshapes shorelines, Huygens provided the first on-surface look, and the Dragonfly mission will explore surface organics and a suspected subsurface ocean, making Titan a key laboratory for prebiotic chemistry.

via Space Daily|

#cassini #ethane #methane

space1 month ago•12 min saved

Titan's Methane Rivers Echo Earth's Hydrology, Flowing Through Ice

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, hosts standing surface liquid—methane and ethane—driven by a slow hydrological cycle that forms rivers, rain, lakes and seas, with bedrock of water ice and surface features mapped by Cassini-Huygens; Kraken Mare and Ligeia Mare are fed by Vid Flumina, and a Dragonfly rotorcraft mission is planned for the 2030s to study Titan up close; while Earthlike in form, Titan's cycle uses different liquids and conditions, and life as we know it is unlikely.

via Space Daily|

#dragonfly-mission #ethane #methane

space2 months ago•14 min saved

Moon's South Pole Ice: A Frozen Resource for Future Space Missions

New NASA-backed evidence confirms water ice in permanently shadowed craters near the Moon’s south pole, where cold traps keep volatiles frozen. If extractable, this ice could supply drinking water, oxygen for breathing, and hydrogen fuel for future missions, reducing Earth-launched mass and enabling in-situ resource utilization, though accessing and processing the material presents significant technical and preservation challenges.

via Space Daily|

#isru #lunar-missions #moon

space-and-spaceflight3 months ago•17 min saved

Europa Plume Claims Doubted: Hydrogen Exosphere, Not Local Water Vapor

A new reanalysis of Hubble data reduces the 2014 claim of 200-km-high water-vapor plumes on Europa from 99.9% confidence to under 90%, suggesting the earlier signal may be statistical noise; meanwhile there’s evidence for a persistent hydrogen exosphere but no localized water vapor. Future missions like Europa Clipper and JUICE will help settle the question.

via Gizmodo|

#europa #exosphere #planetary-science

military-space4 months ago•14 min saved

DARPA selects trio for ultra-low lunar-orbit water-ice probe

DARPA has chosen Benchmark Space Systems, Quantum Space, and Revolution Space to conduct Phase 1 studies for LASSO, a six-month Phase 1A plus 18-month Phase 1B program to design a very-low lunar-orbit mission that would search for water ice at concentrations above 5% and demonstrate sustained maneuverability for future cislunar operations; Benchmark proposes the Sapphire propulsion/navigation architecture, Quantum Space is building on its Ranger concept with hybrid thrusters, and Revolution Space has not disclosed specifics.

via SpaceNews|

#benchmark-space-systems #darpa #lasso

space4 months ago•7 min saved

Hidden Equatorial Ice Could Redefine Mars Missions

ESA's Mars Express radar data reveal buried, ice-rich deposits up to 3.7 km thick in the Medusae Fossae Formation along Mars' equator, hinting at a vast ancient water reservoir. If confirmed, it could provide a near-equatorial water source for future missions and shed light on Mars's climate history; direct sampling hasn't occurred yet, and SHARAD data will be used to tighten the case.

via Indian Defence Review|

#equator #mars #marsis-radar

technology4 months ago•4 min saved

ESA Eyes Laser-Driven Moon Rover to Probe Ice in Permanently Shadowed Craters

A European concept named PHILIP would power a 250 kg lunar rover with a 500-watt infrared laser from a sunlit lander up to 15 km away, enabling operation in the Moon’s permanently shadowed, ice-rich regions by converting the laser into electricity with modified solar panels; the system also enables two-way data via a modulated retro-reflector, with field tests in Tenerife and plans for prototyping under ESA funding.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#laser-power #lunar-exploration #permanently-shadowed-regions

space4 months ago•81 min saved

Ancient Moon shadowed craters may house the most water ice

New analysis using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter temperature data and thermal models shows water ice is patchy and concentrated in the Moon’s oldest, longest-shadowed southern-polar craters, suggesting lunar water arrived gradually over about 3–3.5 billion years via multiple small impacts or interior outgassing rather than a single event; this enhances the case for ice mapping and utilization in upcoming Artemis-era missions.

via Space|

#artemis #lunar-exploration #moon

space5 months ago•4 min saved

NASA Sets Sights on a Permanent Moon Base Powered by Water and Nuclear Energy

NASA outlines a plan to establish a permanent Moon base at the south pole, leveraging water ice for drinking water and rocket fuel, and powering the habitat with nuclear reactors to endure the long lunar night, supported by robotic precursor missions and international cooperation, with a target of deploying a lunar surface reactor by 2030 and expanding habitats over time.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#lunar-base #moon #nasa

science5 months ago•7 min saved

Toward a permanent Moon base by 2030: power, water, and governance

NASA aims to establish a sustained lunar outpost by 2030 as part of Artemis, prioritizing a high-latitude site near the south pole with water ice for life support and propellant, solar power supplemented by nuclear reactors for the long lunar night, and a staged build using robotic preps, inflatable habitats, and in-situ resource utilization, all while navigating governance under the Artemis Accords and the Outer Space Treaty and coordinating funding with international partners.

via The Conversation|

#artemis #moon #nasa