Posted on 04/25/2024 11:52:32 AM PDT by packagingguy
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is being mocked for suggesting the far side of the moon is always “dark” and can’t explain why China is interested in exploring that part of the moon.
“What do you think the Chinese are trying to get at, at the back side of the moon?” Rep. David Trone (D-MD) asked Nelson at a congressional hearing last week.
“They are going to have a lander on the far side of the moon, which is the side which is always in dark. Uh, we’re not planning to go there,” he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
An M1 Garand on the Moon. Interesting.................
“I don’t know. I was really drunk at the time.”
Cover art for early editions of Heinlein’s Rocket Ship Galileo.
Note the Iron Cross on the wing.
Yep.
Dark as in no direct communications, not sunlight.
Putting something there means you need an orbiter to bounce signals back and forth from is all, certainly doable but also a PITA.
Sheesh.
there is no “dark side” that is never exposed to sunlight.
the moon is in a 28 day rotational cycle where the SAME side always FACES the EARTH...
A satellite could see all sides of an object depending on it’s altitude and orbital speed relative to that subject heavenly object... in this case the moon.
I just looked her up. Wow!
Minus 224 degrees. That’s a little chilly for most folks...
Great song from a great album.
RE: They are going there because they can’t be (easily) watched.
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That was my first thought too. I wonder if the LRO could snap some photos...
LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) was the first U.S. mission to the Moon in over 10 years [launched June 18, 2009]. LRO created a 3D map of the Moon, as part of a program to identify future landing sites and resources – including deposits of water ice shadowed in polar craters. LRO continues to orbit the Moon.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro/
RE: There is no side of the moon that is always dark.
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True. I found an interesting animation that demonstrates “The Moon’s Orbit and Rotation”.
https://moon.nasa.gov/resources/429/the-moons-orbit-and-rotation/
What are the Engineering Challenges in Returning to the Moon?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YzWUcDss3g
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