Science

Earth’s Moon Is Shrinking. Here’s What Scientists Say That Could Mean

Published

4 months ago

2024-02-01

According to a new study, a moon region at the centre of a new worldwide space race due to the possibility of water ice may be less habitable than previously thought.

Interest in the lunar south pole peaked last year when India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission performed the first successful soft landing in the region, just days after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed while attempting the same feat. NASA has chosen the region as the landing location for its Artemis III mission, which could send men to the Moon as early as 2026, and China has ambitions to build future habitats there.

However, a NASA-funded study is now raising the alarm: As the Moon’s core gradually cools and shrinks, its surface develops creases, similar to a grape shrivelling into a raisin, resulting in “moonquakes” that can continue for hours and landslides. Much like the rest of the natural satellite’s surface, the area near the south pole that has sparked so much curiosity is prone to seismic disturbances, which could endanger future human residents and equipment.

Earth’s Moon Is Shrinking. Here’s What Scientists Say That Could Mean

“This is not to alarm anyone and certainly not to discourage exploration of that part of the south pole of the moon,” said the study’s lead author, Thomas R. Watters, a senior scientist emeritus in the National Air and Space Museum’s Centre for Earth and Planetary Studies, “but to raise the caution that the moon is not this benign place where nothing is happening.”

Identifying the source of moonquakes
According to researchers, the Moon’s circumference has shrunk by about 150 feet over the previous few million years, a significant amount in geological terms but insufficient to affect Earth or tidal cycles.

However, on the lunar surface, the situation is much different. Despite its appearance, the Moon contains a hot interior that causes seismic activity.

“There is an outer core that’s molten and is cooling off,” Watters told reporters. “As it cools, the moon shrinks, the interior volume changes and the crust has to adjust to that change — it’s a global contraction, to which tidal forces on the Earth also contribute.”

Because the Moon’s surface is brittle, this pushing causes cracks, which geologists call faults. “The moon is thought of as being this geologically dead object where nothing has happened for billions of years, but that couldn’t be more far from the truth,” he said. “These faults are extremely young, and things are happening. We’ve spotted landslides that occurred while the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was in orbit around the Moon.”

Earth’s Moon Is Shrinking. Here’s What Scientists Say That Could Mean

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, was launched in 2009 and is surveying the Moon’s surface using a variety of instruments. Watters and his colleagues utilised data obtained by LRO to relate a powerful moonquake observed with instruments left by Apollo astronauts more than 50 years ago to a sequence of faults in the lunar south pole.

“We knew from the Apollo seismic experiment, which were four seismometers that operated for a period of about seven years, that there were these shallow moonquakes, but we didn’t really know what the source was,” he said. “We also knew that the greatest of the shallow moonquakes identified by the Apollo seismometers occurred around the south pole. It kind of turned into a detective story to figure out what the cause was, and it turns out that these young flaws are the best suspects.”

The strongest recorded earthquake had a magnitude of 5.0. That would be considered mild on Earth, but Watters believes the Moon’s reduced gravity would make it feel worse.

“Gravity is significantly stronger on Earth, keeping you stuck to the surface. “On the moon, it’s much smaller, so even a small amount of ground acceleration could knock you off your feet if you’re walking,” he explained. “That shaking can start throwing things around in a low G environment.”

Moonquakes: Short-term and long-term implications
According to research coauthor and NASA planetary scientist Renee Weber, the study’s conclusions will not impact the Artemis III landing area selection process because of the mission’s scale and duration.

Earth’s Moon Is Shrinking. Here’s What Scientists Say That Could Mean

“This is because estimating how often a specific region experiences a moonquake is difficult to do accurately, and like earthquakes, we can’t predict moonquakes,” he said. “Strong shallow moonquakes are infrequent and pose a low risk to short-term missions on the lunar surface.”

She said that NASA has identified 13 Artemis III candidate landing areas near the lunar south pole based on characteristics such as the region’s capacity to land safely, the potential to accomplish science objectives, launch window availability, and terrain, communications, and illumination conditions. Two astronauts will live and work on the lunar surface for approximately one week as part of the mission.

However, Weber stated that for long-term human settlement on the Moon, geographic qualities such as proximity to tectonic features and topography could be considered during the site selection.

Like flashlights on the Moon.
Moonquakes could pose a concern for future manned landing missions, according to Yoshio Nakamura, a professor emeritus of geophysics at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the experts who first examined the data acquired by the Apollo seismic stations.

However, Nakamura, who was not part of the study, argues regarding the cause of the quakes, claiming that Apollo data suggests the phenomenon originates tens of kilometres below the surface.

“We still don’t know what causes shallow moonquakes, but it is not the sliding fault near the surface,” he told reporters. “Regardless of what causes those quakes, it is true that they pose a potential threat to future landing missions, and we need more data about them.”

Regardless of the underlying cause, the potential danger moonquakes pose to astronauts will be limited because, at least shortly, humans will only be on the Moon for short periods, a few days at most, according to Allen Husker, a research professor of geophysics at the California Institute of Technology who was not involved in the study.

“It is highly improbable that a major moonquake will occur while they are present. However, it is useful to know that these seismic sources (which cause the quakes) exist. “They can provide an opportunity to better study the moon, just as earthquakes do on Earth,” Husker added. “By the time there is an actual moon base, we should have a much better idea of the actual seismic hazard with upcoming missions.”

Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna, an associate professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona who wasn’t involved in the study, shares that viewpoint. “Moonquakes are an incredible tool for doing science,” he explained in an email. “They’re like headlights in the lunar interior, illuminating the structure for us to see. Studying moonquakes at the South Pole will reveal more about the moon’s internal structure and current activity.

SOURCE – CNN

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Science

Strong Solar Storm Could Disrupt Communications And Produce Northern Lights In US

Published

7 days ago

2024-05-10

Kiara Grace

CAPE Florida’s Cape Coral — This weekend, a very powerful solar storm approaching Earth may cause communications outages and cause the northern lights to appear in the United States.

For the first time in almost 20 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a rare geomagnetic storm watch. The entire weekend is under scrutiny, beginning on Friday.

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Strong Solar Storm Could Disrupt Communications And Produce Northern Lights In US

According to NOAA, the sun started to create powerful solar flares on Wednesday, which led to five plasma explosions that might have disrupted Earth’s power infrastructures and satellites in orbit. A coronal mass ejection, or eruption, can produce billions of tons of solar plasma.

The flares appear to be connected to a sunspot that is 16 times the diameter of Earth, which is why NOAA is classifying this as an uncommon occurrence. In 2003, a strong geomagnetic storm destroyed power transformers in South Africa and knocked out power in Sweden.

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Strong Solar Storm Could Disrupt Communications And Produce Northern Lights In US

According to NOAA, the most recent storm may cause northern lights as far south as Alabama and Northern California in the United States.

An amazing natural occurrence is the aurora borealis, sometimes known as the northern lights. The night sky in Earth’s polar regions is home to these vibrant, dancing lights. When charged solar particles clash with atmospheric gasses, these lights are created.

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Strong Solar Storm Could Disrupt Communications And Produce Northern Lights In US

Though the lights are usually observed in green, pink, and violet hues, they can occasionally be seen in other colors as well. Countless people travel to locations like Alaska, Canada, and Scandinavia every year to see this amazing show in person since it is such a stunning sight.

SOURCE – (AP)

News

China Launches Long March-5 to the “Dark Side of Moon”

Published

2 weeks ago

2024-05-04

Geoff Thomas

China Launches Long March-5 Spacecraft: Getty Images

China has launched an unmanned spacecraft on a nearly two-month journey to gather rocks and soil from the moon’s far side, becoming the first country to undertake such an ambitious task.

China’s heaviest rocket, the Long March-5, lifted off at 5:27 p.m. Beijing time (0927 GMT) from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan, carrying the Chang’e-6 probe weighing more than 8 metric tons.

China’s Chang’e-6 is entrusted with landing in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the moon’s far side, which is continuously facing away from Earth, and retrieving and returning samples.

The launch is another significant milestone in China’s lunar and space exploration mission.

“It is a bit of a mystery to us how China has been able to develop such an ambitious and successful programme in such a short time,” said Pierre-Yves Meslin, a French researcher working on one of the Chang’e-6 mission’s scientific objectives.

In 2018, Chang’e-4 made China’s first unmanned moon landing on the far side. Chang’e-5 returned lunar samples for the first time in 44 years in 2020, and Chang’e-6 has the potential to make China the first country to retrieve samples from the moon’s “hidden” side.

Scientists, diplomats, and space agency officials from France, Italy, Pakistan, and the European Space Agency all attended the launch, which carried moon-study payloads on Chang’e-6.

However, no US groups requested for a payload place, according to Ge Ping, deputy director of the China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) Lunar Exploration and Space Program.

U.S. law prohibits China from collaborating with the United States’ space agency, NASA.

The Dark Side of the Moon

The far side of the moon, also known as the “dark side of the moon” despite receiving sunlight, is the hemisphere that always faces away from Earth. The Soviet Luna 3 spacecraft made the first observation of this strange region in 1959.

Unlike the near side, the far side lacks enormous, dark basins known as marias. Instead, hundreds of craters produced by asteroid collisions over billions of years blanket it.

The South Pole-Aitken Basin, an immense crater more than 1,500 miles wide and several miles deep, is one of the most visible landforms on the far side. This ancient impact basin is among the largest known crater formations in our solar system. The far side likewise has many mountains, ridges, and other harsh topography formed by cosmic collisions.

Studying the far side provides insights into the moon’s genesis and early history because it maintains impact records from the solar system’s turbulent childhood.

Scientists also intend to investigate it for potential resources and future lunar bases. With no atmosphere or magnetic field, the far side displays the wounds of endless meteor bombardments, exposing information about Earth’s only natural satellite that the near side lacks.

Source: Reuters

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Business

What Marijuana Reclassification Means For The United States

Published

2 weeks ago

2024-05-01

Kiara Grace

AP - VOR News Image

Washington — The United States Narcotic Enforcement Administration is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less harmful narcotic. The Justice Department’s proposal would recognize cannabis’ medical purposes but not legalize it for recreational use.

The proposal would shift marijuana from the “Schedule I” category to the less stringent “Schedule III.”

So, what does this mean, and what are the implications?

Technically, nothing has happened. The White House Office of Management and Budget must first examine the idea, followed by a public comment period and an administrative judge’s assessment, which could be a lengthy process.

Nonetheless, the change is considered “paradigm-shifting, and it’s very exciting,” Vince Sliwoski, a Portland, Oregon-based cannabis and psychedelics attorney who runs well-known legal blogs on those topics, told The Associated Press when the federal Health and Human Services Department recommended it.

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What Marijuana Reclassification Means For The United States

“I can’t emphasize enough how big of news it is,” he said.

It came after President Joe Biden last year requested that HHS and the attorney general, who controls the DEA, investigate how marijuana was classified. Schedule I legalized it alongside heroin, LSD, quaaludes, and ecstasy, among other substances.

Biden, a Democrat, is in favor of legalizing medical marijuana “where appropriate, consistent with medical and scientific evidence,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday. “That is why it is important for this independent review to go through.”

No. Schedule III medicines, such as ketamine, anabolic steroids, and several acetaminophen-codeine combos, are still considered controlled narcotics.

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What Marijuana Reclassification Means For The United States

They are subject to a variety of restrictions that allow for some medical usage as well as federal criminal punishment of anyone who traffics in the medications illegally.

Medical marijuana programs, which are already regulated in 38 states, and legal recreational cannabis markets in 23 states are expected to remain unchanged, but they are unlikely to meet federal production, record-keeping, prescribing, and other Schedule III drug criteria.

There haven’t been many federal prosecutions for simply possessing marijuana in recent years, even with marijuana’s existing Schedule I designation, but reclassification would have no immediate impact on those currently in the criminal justice system.

“Put simply, this shift from Schedule I to Schedule III is not keeping people out of jail,” said David Culver, senior vice president of public relations of the United States Cannabis Council.

However, rescheduling would have an impact, especially on research and marijuana business taxes.

Because marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance, it has been extremely difficult to undertake permitted clinical trials involving its administration. This has produced a Catch-22 situation: there is a need for further study, but there are hurdles to doing so. (Sometimes, scientists rely on people’s claims of marijuana use.)

Schedule III medications are easier to study, although reclassification would take time to remove all hurdles to research.

“It’s going to be really confusing for a long time,” says Ziva Cooper, director of the University of California, Los Angeles Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids. “When the dust has settled, I don’t know how many years from now, research will be easier.”

Among the unknowns include whether academics will be permitted to study marijuana from state-licensed shops and how the federal Food and Drug Administration would regulate this.

Some researchers remain optimistic.

“Reducing the schedule to schedule 3 will allow us to conduct research with human subjects using cannabis,” said Susan Ferguson, director of the University of Washington’s Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute in Seattle.

Firms involved in “trafficking” marijuana or any other Schedule I or II substance are not allowed to deduct rent, payroll, or other expenses that other firms can. (Yes, despite the federal government’s prohibition on marijuana, at least some cannabis firms, particularly those permitted by states, pay federal taxes.) According to industry associations, tax rates frequently reach 70% or more.

The deduction regulation does not apply to Schedule III medications, so the proposed amendment would significantly reduce cannabis companies’ taxes.

They claim it would treat them like other industries and let them compete with unlawful competitors that frustrate licensees and officials in locations like New York.

“You’re going to make these state-legal programs stronger,” says Adam Goers, an executive at Columbia Care, a medicinal and recreational cannabis provider. He co-chairs a group of corporate and other stakeholders advocating for rescheduling.

According to Beau Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Center, deducting those expenditures could result in greater cannabis marketing and advertising.

Rescheduling would have no direct impact on another marijuana business issue: limited access to banks, particularly for loans, due to federally regulated institutions’ concerns about the drug’s legal status. Instead, the sector has focused on the SAFE Banking Act. It has frequently passed the House but is stuck in the Senate.

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What Marijuana Reclassification Means For The United States

Yes, there are, notably the national anti-legalization organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana. President Kevin Sabet, a former Obama administration drug policy official, said the HHS suggestion “flies in the face of science, reeks of politics” and gives a disappointing nod to an industry “desperately looking for legitimacy.”

Some legalization supporters argue that rescheduling marijuana is too modest. They want to keep the focus on totally removing it from the controlled substances list, which does not include alcohol or tobacco (although they are regulated).

According to Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, simply reclassifying marijuana would be “perpetuating the existing divide between state and federal marijuana policies.” According to Kaliko Castille, President of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, rescheduling simply “re-brands prohibition,” rather than giving state licensees the green light and bringing an end to decades of arrests that disproportionately affected people of color.

“Schedule III is going to leave it in this kind of amorphous, mucky middle where people are not going to understand the danger of it still being federally illegal,” the senator stated.

Peltz reported from New York. Associated Press writers Colleen Long in Washington and Carla K. Johnson in Seattle contributed to this story.

SOURCE – (AP)