lander

Two Scientists Will Replace U.S. Science Adviser Eric Lander

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US President Joe Biden has replaced his disgraced science adviser, Eric Lander, with two scientists who will split Lander’s duties “until permanent leadership is nominated and confirmed”, according to the White House. Alondra Nelson, deputy director for science and society at the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), which Lander led, will become acting director … Read more

NASA’s InSight Mars lander bounces back from dust storm, but its days are numbered

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NASA’s InSight Mars lander has shaken off the effects of a recent dust storm, likely allowing the spacecraft to collect science data for a few more months. InSight went into a protective safe mode on Jan. 7, temporarily shutting down its instruments after a huge dust storm prevented the solar-powered lander from soaking up enough … Read more

Russia aims to rekindle moon program with lunar lander launch this July

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Russia is ready to reactivate its moon exploration agenda, a former Soviet Union enterprise that ended decades ago. The last in the series of pioneering Soviet robotic lunar missions was Luna 24, which sent about 6 ounces (170 grams) of moon material back to Earth in 1976. Russia’s planned Luna 25 mission is set to … Read more

White House science adviser Eric Lander under fire for bullying | Science

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President Joe Biden’s top science adviser, geneticist Eric Lander, has been reprimanded for bullying and demeaning women on his staff, according to a scathing piece this morning in Politico. A 2-month White House investigation found “credible evidence” that Lander bullied one of his attorneys and disrespected and demeaned members of his 140-person staff in the … Read more

NASA’s InSight Mars lander awakens from ‘safe mode’ after Red Planet dust storm

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A NASA spacecraft has safely emerged from a precautionary “safe mode” after an intense Martian dust storm. The solar-powered InSight lander, which is designed to study the interior of Mars, entered safe mode to save power on Jan. 7; it went back to “more normal operations” by Jan. 19, the mission said in a Twitter … Read more

China’s Chang’e 5 lunar lander is first to find water on the moon up close

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China’s Chang’e 5 lunar lander just marked a historic first: The spacecraft became the first to detect water on the moon at its landing site in real time. Chang’e 5 found water at its landing site near Oceanus Procellarum on the moon’s near side, using an instrument that detects water by determining spectral reflectance measurements … Read more

Chinese Lunar Lander Makes The First Ever On-Site Detection of Water on The Moon

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When China’s Chang’E-5 probe visited the Moon in December of 2020, it didn’t just collect a sample of lunar material to return to Earth. While it was there, the mission took observations of the surrounding lunar rock – data vital for contextualizing the sample in future studies.   Those observations have turned out to be … Read more

Blue Moon lunar lander : Facts about Jeff Bezos’ spacecraft

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Since the Apollo lunar lander first delivered humans to the moon, just 12 astronauts have walked on the lunar surface. While nobody has set foot on its surface since 1972, plans are in place to return people to the moon. Some people, including American Entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, are envisaging steps much further ahead– creating a … Read more