Here’s a cool video from the Chang’e 3 spacecraft as it came in for a landing on the Moon: Amazing Chang’e 3 descent video – The Planetary Society
http://youtu.be/TaQTSTrbT3w
Planet Hunters – 3 years of citizen scientist exoplanet searches & discoveries
The citizen science Planet Hunters program celebrates three years of searching and (occasionally) finding exoplanets: 3 Years of Hunting Planets – Planet Hunters
Three years ago we weren’t sure if would even find planets, today we have lots of candidates and even some confirmed planets of our very own. Here’s a poster to celebrate: the Planet Hunters avatar made up of the almost-200,000 names of our registered users. Happy Birthday everyone!
Download Fullsize [46 MB] or Half-size [11 MB].
Western Worlds – weekly podcast about planetary science and exploration
Check out the Western Worlds radio/podcast program from the Centre for Planetary Science & Exploration at Western University in Canada.
The weekly program will feature an interview with an expert – a researcher, engineer, scientist, or educator – in the planetary science and exploration community. The interview will focus on the guest’s expertise as well as anything else that may be of interest. This will be followed by a round-table discussion involving several Western Worlds co-hosts, who have a wide-variety of educational and professional backgrounds.
The most recent two episodes:
* Western Worlds # 409 – Tue Dec 10, 2013
Co-host Raymond Francis talks to Matt Bamsey about new strategies for life support systems on spacecraft, and how long-duration exploration missions may push us to use biological systems as part of the solution. Join co-hosts Raymond Francis, Parshati Patel and Melissa Battler in the round table discussion after the interview.
* Western Worlds # 408 – Thu Nov 28, 2013
Co-host Raymond Francis talks to Ryan Kobrick about the surprising challenges lunar dust poses for astronauts on the lunar surface, and what goes into designing a spacesuit to handle that and other challenges. Join co-hosts Raymond Francis, Parshati Patel and Melissa Battler in the round table discussion after the interview.
===
Find more space related programs on the web in the HobbySpace SpaceCasts section.
**************************
Shop Amazon Outlet – Clearance, Markdowns and Overstock Deals
![Fullsize [46 MB]](http://zooniverse-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/bigblogfiles/ph-3-year-poster-7000.jpg){kind=link}
![Half-size [11 MB]](http://zooniverse-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/bigblogfiles/ph-3-year-poster-3500.jpg){kind=link}
Chang’e 3 update: Pictures from Yutu
11:30 am ET: Some info from the CCTV discussion before it ended:
- Several instruments on the vehicles are now working such as the ground-penetrating radar
- The rover will hibernate between Dec 16 to 23 to avoid the heat of the lunar noon.
- Lander and rover will hibernate during the two week lunar night.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera site posts images of where they believe the Chang’e 3 landed: Safe On The Surface Of The Moon! – LROC News System
More at
- Color photo of Yutu rover and Chang’e lander, and more on the Chang’e 3 landing site – The Planetary Society
- A New Site to Explore on the Moon – The Once and Future Moon
11:15 am ET: The CCTV program on the lunar mission has apparently ended for today.
NASA has no formal co-operative research interactions with the Chinese lunar program. This statement describes the agency’s current lunar projects and how they might benefit from the Chinese lander and rover: China’s Lunar Lander May Provide Additional Science for NASA Spacecraft – NASA
10:55am ET: Some formal statements were made by Chinese officials about the success of the mission. The control room is enormous compared to what one would see at JPL or JSC today.
10:45 am ET: This image is of the rover as seen by the lander:
10:43 am ET: This image is being distributed around the web:
The first public image of the lander as seen from the Yutu rover.
10:39 am EST: The Yutu rover is expected soon to start sending back pictures of the Chang’e 3 lander. The CCTV site is currently broadcasting coverage of the Chang’e 3 mision: CCTV News Live – CDN Live Streaming – CCTV Program online.
This site has lots of details about the mission: Chang’e 3 Mission Updates – SPACEFLIGHT101
Chinese rover moves onto the surface of the Moon
The Yutu rover has now rolled onto the surface of the Moon from the Chang’e 3 lander.
http://youtu.be/OgfAQdKtQkE
Update: More from Emily Lakdawalla on the rover’s deployment: Six wheels on soil for Yutu! – The Planetary Society
CNSA / CCTV / Emily Lakdawalla
Chang’e 3 rover Yutu rolls onto the lunar surface