Moon exploration.
-- What are the implications of the discovery of water on the Moon?
NASA announced that its LCROSS lunar-impact probe mission found up to a billion gallons of water ice in the floor of a permanently-shadowed crater near the moon's south pole. Finding large amounts of water on the moon could be important, not just for science, but for future exploration by astronauts. Water, essential for human survival, would be heavy and expensive for spacecraft to bring from earth. But if astronauts land near ice deposits, as NASA has long hoped, they could, in effect, live off the land.
The ice could be melted and purified for drinking and cooling of spacecraft systems -- and beyond that, it could also be broken down into its components, hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen could be used as rocket fuel; oxygen could be used for breathing.
-- Many cultures have stories and myths about the Moon. Can you find one that you like?
Once the earth was created, there was still no sun or moon to illuminate it and no people to enjoy it. All was lonely and as dark as a night without a moon. Something had to be done.
With Chiminigagua, were 2 men -- the first caciques, Sugamuxi and his nephew, Ramiriquí. Their first assignment was to create man. In order to populate the earth, they decided to make men and women. In order to create the first man, they used yellow dirt. Then, they used herbs and stems to create women.
Yet, all was still dark, so the cacique Sugamuxi ordered his nephew to go up into the sky and become a sun that could illuminate and give life to the earth. This, Ramiriquí did at once and the earth was bathed in heat and light.
Once this was done, however, there was still concern that there was no light to rule the night. So, the cacique Sugamuxi went up into the sky and became the moon.
When the Spanish arrived they experienced firsthand the Chibcha celebration of the Sun and the Moon. In Sogamoso, annually at the end of December, a festival was held in memory of Sugamuxi and Ramiriquí. The festival was called HUAN. At this festival, 12 Indians, dressed in brightly colored clothing, carried feathered strings and small birds in a parade through the village. In front of the 12 was a beautiful woman dressed in blue. All would sing and cry out, "We are all mortal, and will someday become as the dust of the earth, without knowing what will be the end of our souls." The Spanish reported that the event was very somber and sad, yet very moving.
-- The Apollo 11 mission was the first to put people on the Moon. What can you find out about the other missions that sent people to the Moon?
As part of human exploration of the Moon, numerous space missions have been undertaken to study Earth's natural satellite. Of the Moon landings; Luna 2 was the first spacecraft to reach its surface successfully, intentionally impacting the Moon on 13 September 1959. In 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to achieve a controlled soft landing, while Luna 10 became the first mission to enter orbit.
Between 1968 and 1972, manned missions to the Moon were conducted by the United States as part of the Apollo program. Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to enter orbit in December 1968, and was followed by Apollo 10 in May 1969. Six missions landed men on the Moon, beginning with Apollo 11 in July 1969, during which Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon. Apollo 13 was intended to land, however it was restricted to a flyby due to a malfunction aboard the spacecraft. All nine manned missions returned safely to the Earth.
While the United States focused on the manned Apollo program, the Soviet Union conducted unmanned missions that deployed rovers and returned samples to the Earth. Three rover missions were launched, of which two were successful, and eleven sample return flights were attempted with three successes.
Missions to the Moon have been conducted by the Soviet Union, United States, European Space Agency, Japan, India and the People's Republic of China. The Moon has also been visited by five spacecraft not dedicated to studying it; four spacecraft have flown past it to gain gravity assists, and a radio telescope, Explorer 49, was placed into selenocentric orbit in order to use the Moon to block interference from terrestrial radio sources.
-- How has information about the Moon been of use here on Earth?
The moon's gravity pulls at the Earth, causing predictable rises and falls in sea levels known as tides. To a much smaller extent, tides also occur in lakes, the atmosphere, and within Earth's crust.
High tides are when water bulges upward, and low tides are when water drops down. High tide results on the side of the Earth nearest the moon due to gravity, and it also happens on the side farthest from the moon due to the inertia of water. Low tides occur between these two humps.
The pull of the moon is also slowing the Earth's rotation, an effect known as tidal braking, which increases the length of our day by 2.3 milliseconds per century. The energy that Earth loses is picked up by the moon, increasing its distance from the Earth, which means the moon gets farther away by 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) annually.