All Questions
14
questions
11
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Why not crash the ICPS into the Moon?
The Wikipedia article on Artemis 1 says that an ICPS disposal burn was performed after spacecraft separation. This was intended to send the ICPS into heliocentric orbit after passing the Moon. Why ...
- 3,125
3
votes
0
answers
68
views
Is the impact of Chang’e 5-T1 rocket stage on the Moon's far side on March 4th likely to launch any debris into Moon or Earth orbit?
It is predicted that the Chang’e 5-T1 rocket stage will impact the Moon's far side on March 4th. The stage apparently weighs about 4 tonnes and will impact at 2.5 km/s at a shallow angle.
There's ...
- 3,894
13
votes
1
answer
2k
views
BBC: "In 2009 Prof McDowell & other astronomers performed an experiment in which a similar-sized rocket was crashed into the Moon." Really? Which one?
The line following the title of BBC's Elon Musk SpaceX rocket on collision course with moon reads:
A rocket launched by Elon Musk's space exploration company is on course to crash into the Moon and ...
- 149k
1
vote
0
answers
74
views
Would detonating a powerful nuke on the Moon really cause a Richter 7 moonquake? Do we know enough about the moon to predict this?
A recent episode of Kurzgesagt explores the consequences of exploding a hydrogen bomb on/near the surface of the moon. At 3:48 they consider the resulting moonquake, saying it's comparable to a ...
- 111
6
votes
2
answers
297
views
Legality of nuclear debris field on the Moon?
A while ago, I asked about what happens to a nuclear engine that gets smashed into the Moon. While not conclusively answered, it's likely that the contaminated area would be of significant size.
But ...
35
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Why are there mountains/mounds in the centre of craters on the lunar surface?
From clear images of moon's surface we can see many of the craters have small mountains/mounds (or montes) in the centre. So, what is the mechanism behind the formation of these mountains and which ...
- 665
5
votes
1
answer
259
views
How many times were things crashed into the Moon "for science" (seismic events)?
This answer to Did Apollo 13 produce any scientific results? begins:
In addition to crashing the Saturn V's S-IVB into the moon to collect seismic data from sensors installed by the crews of Apollo ...
- 149k
11
votes
1
answer
493
views
Asteroid impact on the Moon: which effects cause the flash?
It is most likely that there was an impact on the Moon during yesterday's lunar eclipse. I am trying to get some more understanding of this so that I could maybe do a more detailed video on this ...
- 5,505
8
votes
2
answers
479
views
How can debris from an impact escape to a stable orbit?
Please help me understand: As far as I understand it, when an object gets thrown off the surface of a planet by an impact and doesn't reach escape velocity it is on a suborbital trajectory and ...
- 175
16
votes
6
answers
8k
views
Can a nuclear detonation on Moon destroy life on Earth?
If a nuclear weapon is detonated on the moon it would launch debris into space. The debris would then fall to earth like asteroids.
Would this impact wipe out life on Earth? In other words, are our ...
- 323
8
votes
2
answers
966
views
What happens to a spacecraft crashing into the Moon?
When planning a new architecture for lunar missions, one always faces the potential of nuclear thermal engines. Having a much higher $I_{sp}$, they offer a much higher propellant efficiency, causing a ...
8
votes
1
answer
413
views
Why does the Moon's Anaxagoras crater seem sort of jumbled?
Now that very high resolution imagery of the Moon's whole north, above 60 °N, can be viewed on one giant awesome zoomable map, I've been taking a close look at a number of craters. Anaxagoras sticks ...
- 21.4k
2
votes
1
answer
289
views
Minimum size meteoroids for meteorites on Earth, Mars, and the Moon?
What approximate size range, considering the different construction and composition, must meteoroids be to become meteorites on Earth, Mars, and the Moon?
- 123
11
votes
2
answers
721
views
Is the UK Space's MoonLITE project still on?
Impacting the Moon with ballistic projectiles to study its surface characteristics through debris plume sounds fantastic to me, especially with the success of previous such missions (or better said ...
- 76.2k