spacetoday.net: space news from around the webin association with SpaceNews


Lunar mascons linked to impacts
Posted: Sun, Jun 2, 2013, 8:40 AM ET (1240 GMT)
GRAIL illustration (NASA) Scientists have associated irregularities in the Moon's gravity field with impacts by asteroids and comets early in the Moon's history. In a paper in the journal Science, scientists used the detailed gravity map of the Moon created by NASA's GRAIL mission last year to study the origin of mass concentrations, or mascons, below the lunar surface that create localized variations of the lunar gravity field. Using models of large impacts, scientists believe the mascons formed after impacts by asteroids and comets early in the Moon's history, when its interior was much hotter than now. Those models showed the mixing of light crust material and denser mantle material in the impacts created the mascons, which crate bullseye-like patterns in the lunar gravity map.
<<previous article   next article>>
news in brief
NASA astronauts perform ISS spacewalk
Posted: Sun, May 4 10:25 AM ET (1425 GMT)

SpaceX launches Starlink satellites
Posted: Sun, May 4 10:24 AM ET (1424 GMT)

Senate committee advances Isaacman nomination to lead NASA
Posted: Sun, May 4 10:23 AM ET (1423 GMT)

news links
Thursday, May 8
Elon Musk’s Starlink gets Indian regulatory go-ahead for satcom services
The Economic Times (India) — 6:45 am ET (1045 GMT)


about spacetoday.net   ·   info@spacetoday.net   ·   mailing list