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#crater — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #crater, aggregated by home.social.

  1. What happened, Moon Mission?

    After watching the video, I am thinking, we should land a Starship in a deep crater and unload the Lunar Boring Machines sooner rather than later. Bore an opening to the massive lava tubes, mine the water ice that covers the floor of the lava tube, and build the habitat.??

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-nUKSLPw6c

    If we are actually planning to stay on the Moon, we need the protection of a hundred meters of regolith. And the water ice to stay alive…
    ‘I was thinking that for years…’

    Prompt:
    Video Link
    Summarize and list the key points

    Gemini Said:
    This video by Astrum Extra, titled “Exactly How We’re Going to Colonise the Moon,” is a compilation discussing human return to the Moon, lunar science, and recent exploration missions.

    Video Summary

    The video explores humanity’s ongoing efforts and technical strategies to set up permanent bases on the Moon. It details how satellite mappers (like NASA’s LRO and South Korea’s Danuri/ShadowCam) identify crucial lunar resources and shelter sites, examines the test results and mission progression of NASA’s Artemis program (from Artemis 1 through Artemis 4), and reviews the findings of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission regarding the search for water ice at the lunar South Pole [00:51], [08:41], [13:58], [01:13:04].

    Key Takeaways & Points

    1. Lunar Geology & Natural Resources

    • Pit Craters & Lava Tubes: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) discovered pit craters over 100 meters deep that lead to subterranean lava tube cave systems [02:34], [03:06]. These offer natural protection from lethal solar/cosmic radiation and meteorites, serving as ideal shelter locations for human habitats [03:53], [04:16].
    • Lunar Water Cycle: Trace amounts of water exist in the surface regolith and shift in a subtle cycle driven by temperature changes throughout the lunar day [04:41], [05:11].
    • Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs): Polar craters shielded from direct sunlight reach temperatures as low as -250°C, making them the coldest measured places in the solar system [05:54], [06:46]. These “cold traps” host locked reserves of water ice along with carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen compounds [07:04], [07:23].

    2. Mapping and Imaging Advancements

    • ShadowCam (Danuri Orbiter): Developed by NASA and carried aboard South Korea’s KPLO (Danuri), ShadowCam features 200-times greater light sensitivity than LRO cameras, allowing scientists to peer deep into shadowed crater interiors like Shackleton Crater to inspect for surface ice deposits [08:41], [09:08], [09:23].

    3. The Artemis Program Milestones & Challenges

    • Artemis 1 (Uncrewed Flight Test): Successfully launched aboard the SLS rocket in late 2022, placing the Orion capsule into a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon and testing key autonomous navigation, deep-space life support systems, and atmospheric re-entry [15:38], [21:43], [26:06].
    • Anomalies Identified: Post-flight inspections revealed heat shield erosion (AVcoat material charring/chipping unexpectedly during re-entry) and minor helium/propulsion system leaks [35:52], [36:08], [01:06:07].
    • Artemis 2 (Crewed Flyby): Designed as a 10-day mission carrying four astronauts (Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen) to perform flybys of the Moon, testing human systems, optical laser communication (O2O), and radiation exposures in deep space [29:43], [50:23], [53:49], [55:55].
    • Artemis 3 & 4 Adjustments: Artemis 3 was shifted to a low-Earth orbit docking test (similar to Apollo 9) to lower technical risk, targeting the actual crewed lunar landing at the South Pole for Artemis 4 [38:32], [39:33], [41:51].
    • Next-Gen Suits & Tools: Astronauts will use modern Axiom Space suits (built with Prada) and specialized instruments (like DUSTER) to withstand extreme cold and fine, abrasive lunar glass dust [43:21], [44:41], [45:37].

    4. Chandrayaan-3 and the Search for Ice

    • Historic Landing: India’s ISRO became the first agency to land a spacecraft (Vikram lander and Pragyan rover) near the lunar South Pole on a budget of ~$75 million [01:13:12], [01:17:28].
    • Surface Composition: In-situ testing detected elements like aluminum, titanium, iron, calcium, oxygen, and sulfur in the polar regolith [01:19:12], [01:19:21].
    • Where Is the Water? The rover found no immediate surface ice or hydrogen in the top layer [01:19:43], [01:23:57]. However, thermal probes revealed that while surface temperatures reached ~60°C, temperatures plunged down to -10°C just 8 cm below the surface, showing that lunar regolith acts as an insulator and suggesting water ice is buried underneath [01:24:25], [01:25:03].
    #Astrum #Moonmission #Waterice #Astrumextra #crater #habitat #lavaTube #moon #moonmission #NASA #news #science #space #technology
  2. Tiny little butte in the middle of the valley, captured in Stereo3D just 4 hours ago by Curiosity

    To go 3D: eyes' lines of sight parallel, left image for left eye, right image for right eye.

    Credit images: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    #Mars June 1, 2026 - Sol 4912

    #Curiosity #rover #Sol4912 #CuriosityRover #space #geology #Astrodon #MSL #Martian #landscape #GaleCrater #MountSharp #AeolisMons #crater #science #STEM #3D #Stereo3D #Stereoscopy

  3. NASA’s Curiosity Takes Close Look at Rock That Got Stuck on Drill

    This mosaic is made up of eight images stitched together. The color has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth.

    science.nasa.gov/photojournal/

    #Mars #Curiosity #stuck #AtacamaDrillTarget #rover #CuriosityRover #space #geology #Astrodon #MSL #Martian #GaleCrater #MountSharp #AeolisMons #crater #science #STEM #news

  4. NASA’s Curiosity Rover Frees Its Drill From a Rock

    This series of images shows Mars rover Curiosity as it got a rock stuck to the drill on the end of its robotic arm and, after waving the arm and running the drill a few times, finally detached the rock.

    science.nasa.gov/photojournal/

    #Mars #Curiosity #stuck #AtacamaDrillTarget #rover #CuriosityRover #space #geology #Astrodon #MSL #Martian #GaleCrater #MountSharp #AeolisMons #crater #science #STEM #news

  5. Sol 4882, a new day on Mars, the rock is still stuck to Curiosity's drill.

    Stereo3D view captured by the front hazard avoidance cameras. To go 3D: eyes' lines of sight parallel, left image for left eye, right image for right eye.

    #Mars #Curiosity #stuck #AtacamaDrillTarget #rover #Sol4882 #CuriosityRover #space #geology #Astrodon #MSL #Martian #landscape #GaleCrater #MountSharp #AeolisMons #crater #science #STEM #3D #Stereo3D #stereoscopy

  6. #PhotoOfTheDay: #Mimas: Small #Moon with a Big #Crater

    Whatever hit Mimas nearly destroyed it. What remains is one of the largest impact craters on one of Saturn's smallest round moons. Analysis indicates that a slightly larger impact would have destroyed Mimas entirely.

    The huge crater, named #Herschel, spans about 130 kilometers and is featured here.

    apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250112.ht

  7. Earth May Have Had A Ring System 466 Million Years Ago
    --
    phys.org/news/2024-09-earth-mi <-- shared technical article
    --
    doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2024.11 <-- shared paper
    --
    “HIGHLIGHTS:
    • Earth may have had a ring during the middle Ordovician, from ca. 466 Ma.
    • Breakup of an asteroid passing within Earth's Roche limit likely formed the ring.
    • Among several features preserved is a near-equatorial band of impact craters.
    • Shading of Earth by the ring may have triggered a global icehouse period…”
    --
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #model #modeling #geology #structuralgeology #planetarygeology #rings #climatechange #paleoclimate #Ordovician #asteroid #rochelimit #craters #impactcrater #crater #icehouse #meteorite #platetectonics #HirnantianIcehouse

  8. Perseverance Rover to Begin Long Climb Up Martian Crater Rim

    Priority regions to study at the top of the crater are nicknamed “Witch Hazel Hill” and “Pico Turquino”, which contains ancient fractures that may have been caused by past hydrothermal activity.
    nasa.gov/missions/mars-2020-pe

    #Mars #Perseverance #rover #perseverancerover #astrobiology #geology #space #science #WitchHazelHill #PicoTurquino #JeseroCrater #crater #hydrothermal #astrodo.

  9. Spectacular image, made by ESA's Mars Express probe, shows the deposition of water ice at the bottom of a crater on Mars near the planet's North Pole, this crater is 35 km in diameter and 2 km deep.

    Credit: ESA/ fu_berlin; NASA/MGS/MOLA Science Team