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

SpaceX launches Indonesia communications satellite
Posted: Sun, Sep 14 4:07 AM ET (0807 GMT)

Soyuz launches Progress cargo spacecraft to ISS
Posted: Sun, Sep 14 4:06 AM ET (0806 GMT)

news links
Thursday, September 18
Rocket Lab Looks To Raise $750M In Share Sale
Aviation Week — 1:53 am ET (0553 GMT)
Update: SpaceX Launch from Vandenberg Rescheduled Due to Weather
Santa Barbara (CA) Edhat — 1:50 am ET (0550 GMT)


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