January 1, 2018 - Moon on the Rocks
Moon on the Rocks? After Apollo 17 returned from the Moon in 1972, NASA did not conduct another lunar exploration mission of its own for over 25 years. Twenty years ago this week, Lunar Prospector began a 19-month journey to map the Moon’s elemental composition, measure its magnetic field, and detect gas escaping from the surface. One tantalizing discovery was a high concentration of sub-surface hydrogen, which hinted at water ice (perhaps delivered by a cometary impact) trapped in a perpetually shadowed crater on the Moon’s south pole. At mission’s end, Lunar Prospector intentionally crashed into the crater. The force of the impact might have released water vapor, and although none was detected, a similar experiment by NASA in a later 2009 mission confirmed the existence of ice.
Image credit: NASA
Weekly Calendar
January 1 - 7, 2018
Holidays - Sky Events - Space History
Monday 1
New Year's Day
Mercury at greatest elongation (23° W)
Moon at perigee
Full Moon 9:24 PM ET
1801: Giuseppe Piazzi discovers asteroid Ceres
Tuesday 2
Uranus appears stationary
1900: Leslie Peltier born
1920: Isaac Asimov born
1959: Luna 1 is first spacecraft to leave Earth’s gravitational field
1972: Mariner 9 begins mapping Mars
2004: Stardust encounters Comet Wild 2
Wednesday 3
Earth at perihelion
Quadrantid meteor shower
1962: NASA publicly announces and names Gemini program
2004: Mars rover Spirit lands
Thursday 4
Quadrantid meteor shower
1970: NASA cancels Apollo 20 mission; further production of Saturn V launch vehicles ceases
Friday 5
Regulus 0.9° south of Moon
1969: Venera 5 launched
1972: President Nixon announces approval to develop the Space Shuttle
2005: UB313 (Eris) discovered, ignites the Pluto-Planet debate
Saturday 6
Epiphany
Mars 0.2° south of Jupiter
1998: Lunar Prospector launched
Sunday 7
1610: Galileo discovers Callisto, Europa, & Io
1964: First power tool for space demonstrated
1968: Surveyor 7 launched