Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission returns with samples from moon's far side
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Re: Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission returns with samples from moon's far side
#2The international moon base plan is fascinating.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Lunar_Research_S...
(nuclear power plans by Russia not so much)
Is there enough gravity on the moon to prevent the long-term health problems from the space station like bone, muscle and vision loss?
Re: Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission returns with samples from moon's far side
#3What are they expecting to be different about samples from the moon's far side to those previously collected?
Re: Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission returns with samples from moon's far side
#4The international moon base plan is fascinating. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Lunar_Research_S... (nuclear power plans by Russia not so much) Is there enough gravity on the moon to prevent the long-term health problems from the space station like bone, muscle and vision loss?
> nuclear power plans by Russia not so much
Why? Any lunar base without nuclear power plans is not a serious effort.
Re: Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission returns with samples from moon's far side
#5The international moon base plan is fascinating. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Lunar_Research_S... (nuclear power plans by Russia not so much) Is there enough gravity on the moon to prevent the long-term health problems from the space station like bone, muscle and vision loss?
> Is there enough gravity on the moon to prevent the long-term health problems from the space station like bone, muscle and vision loss?
Nobody knows. You might think scientist can science up answers to any question but it is impossible to know this without long term data which is simply not available.
There were some experiments done in parabolic flights [2] but those only last for a very short time.
There is this literature review [2]. They are not optimistic: "It can be anticipated that partial gravity environments as present on the Moon or on Mars are not sufficient to preserve all physiological systems to a 1 g standard if not addressed through adequate countermeasures." Which is space speak for "you will need to go to the gym on the moon". But they are willing to admit how little there is to know for certain: "The methodological quality of the vast majority of the available/included studies is too low to generate a compeling evidence."
1: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10411353/
2: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10....
Re: Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission returns with samples from moon's far side
#6The international moon base plan is fascinating. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Lunar_Research_S... (nuclear power plans by Russia not so much) Is there enough gravity on the moon to prevent the long-term health problems from the space station like bone, muscle and vision loss?
I do not know for a fact, but I wouldn't think there is a single chance in hell that living in an environment with 1/6th of the gravity we've got on earth would not cause long term effects in your health, specially to the bones and muscle.
Re: Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission returns with samples from moon's far side
#7What are they expecting to be different about samples from the moon's far side to those previously collected?
The reason you seek to explore what you don't know is because you don't know what you don't know.
In general I don't think people really appreciate how ridiculously little we know about everything outside of our planet. Like for instance it was only in 2013 (!!!) that it was discovered that Mars' soil is relatively 'moist', about 2% water by mass. And that's just the topsoil layer - it's suggestive that below the surface it could well be even more moist.
But the Moon's much closer, so we must know more, right? Well water ice on the Moon was only confirmed in 2018!! [1] So actually starting to get surface samples, and explore more of the Moon, ideally with a rapid return to humans on it is so exciting because who knows what we'll find out next? The unknown is precisely what makes exploring the unknown so enticing, rewarding, and fun!
[1] - https://www.space.com/41554-water-ice-moon-surface-confirmed...
Re: Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission returns with samples from moon's far side
#8The international moon base plan is fascinating. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Lunar_Research_S... (nuclear power plans by Russia not so much) Is there enough gravity on the moon to prevent the long-term health problems from the space station like bone, muscle and vision loss?
> nuclear power plans by Russia not so much Why? Any lunar base without nuclear power plans is not a serious effort.
I often wondered, how do you deal with all the waste heat from a fission power reactor, in a vacuum?
Giant radiators?
edit: fixed typo, derp. fusion=fission
Re: Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission returns with samples from moon's far side
#9The international moon base plan is fascinating. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Lunar_Research_S... (nuclear power plans by Russia not so much) Is there enough gravity on the moon to prevent the long-term health problems from the space station like bone, muscle and vision loss?
I do not know for a fact, but I wouldn't think there is a single chance in hell that living in an environment with 1/6th of the gravity we've got on earth would not cause long term effects in your health, specially to the bones and muscle.
Probably fine .. as long as you don't come home.
Re: Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission returns with samples from moon's far side
#10One thing they seems to have got working fairly reliably is the lunar landing of the probe using image processing to guide the final approach and touch down. It seems to have worked well in this and the previous mission, there are videos on youtube of that.
https://youtu.be/wUju9-cckKA?si=nZFOCga10mnCA_vs
The other component is the autonomous docking of the return probe in lunar orbit.
Soviets have done a lunar sample return, but they had a probe that would lift off directly into a earth return trajectory, but that seems to have limited both the liftoff mass and the possible zones in moon from which it can lift off. This seems a much more complex mission than that.
Also some animated videos of the misson show a skip re-entry back to earth, don't know if it is the case during this particular flight.