Archives for June 2021

Have you ever wondered how long does it take to get to the Moon, or how far away the lunar surface is from our planet? Today, through this article, we’ve got the answers for you.

The Moon is a natural satellite of the Earth, it is the fifth biggest in the Solar System.

How long does it take to get there?

It takes around three days for a crewed spacecraft to get to the Moon, on average. This calculation is based on the previous nine manned missions to the Moon and the six that landed on its surface. If we work out the accurate timing for the same, based on the previous mission of course, then it comes to about three days and six hours precisely.

Though, several other factors affect the journey duration as well, likewise where the Moon is in orbit at a specific time, the fuel that uses in the spacecraft, and the size of the spacecraft etc.

During the journey to the Moon, a spacecraft have to travel at least 240,000 miles (386,400 kilometres). Though, the distance may vary depending upon the specific path chosen.

However, Unmanned spacecraft can get to the Moon a lot faster. The quickest time was set by Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft which took eight hours and thirty-five minutes only to get to the Moon surface.

How far away the Moon is from Earth?

The distance between the Moon from Earth can be varied and it depends upon where it is in orbit. The distance from Earth varies between 225,700 miles (363,300 kilometres) and 252,000 miles (405,500 kilometres).

On average, the Moon is 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometres) away from the Earth, which is almost the width of 30 Earths. The Moon does not orbit Earth in a perfect circle but travels in a slightly elliptical orbit instead.

The closest point is called the “perigee” and puts the Moon around 225,623 miles (363,104 kilometres) from the Earth, whereas the furthest point the Moon is around 252,088 miles (405,696 kilometres) away from Earth.

How much would you weigh on the Moon?

Due to the strength of one-sixth gravitational on the Moon, a person would weigh six timeless on the Moon than they weigh on the Earth. The low gravity on the Moon allows Astronauts to move around easily on Moon’s surface and even jump.

How long is a day on the Moon?

The Moon has 655.72 hours long a day, which is of 27.32 Earth days long.

Some other interesting facts about the Moon

• The temperature on the Moon range from minus 173 degrees Celsius to 260 degrees Celsius. It is because the Moon has no significant atmosphere to block some of the Sun’s rays, therefore its temperature varies massively between day and night.
• It is believed that The Moon have formed around 4.51 billion years ago.
• The strength of its gravitational field is about a sixth of Earth’s gravity.
• The surface of the Moon is actually dark, but due to its reflective ground, it appears bright in the sky.

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Send Your Name to Mars

How to get to Waiheke Island?

Do you ever plan to go beyond earth? NASA offers travel opportunities to Mars for which anyone can sign up from the official website of NASA. This opportunity is open for all to become a passenger on the next Mars mission. NASA has launched an initiative for all to “Send Your Name to Mars”, it is a program that lets people take part by submitting their name to Mars.

Though, even if you are not an astronaut, there still be a chance for you to leave your footprints outside this planet.

How do get to register in the “Send Your Name to Mars” program?

Don’t just get excited, just enroll yourself and get yourself register with the “Send Your Name to Mars” program of NASA.  All you need to do is to go to the official website of NASA and fill in your basic details including your name, country, postal code, and email address, and that’s it. You are all set for your spaceflight.

As soon as you get yourself registered, you will straight away get your “Boarding Pass” and will become a part of more than 19 million people who already joined the program.

“Landing on Mars is always an incredibly difficult task and we are proud to continue building on our past success,” said Jet Propulsion Laboratory director Michael Watkins, per ABC 15.

At the time of writing, more than 4 million people signed up, China has the highest number of names flying out with the US who has the second-highest number of signed up, followed by Philippians, U.K., Russia, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, France, India, and Indonesia.

Submitting your name means it will be etched onto a microchip with an electron beam subject to a review process. The process of etching the names onto the chip is called electron or “e-beam” lithography, it uses a focused beam of the electron to form patterns into materials.

The beam is quite accurate and can write on a scale down to one nanometer. This is about 1 million times thinner than the sheet of normal paper.

This microchip will further be placed onto the next NASA spacecraft destined for Mars. Currently, it is not confirmed what spacecraft this would be like, nor when this Mars mission will occur. Though the boarding pass gives a travel date of July 2026 and like the Perseverance rover, the spacecraft will launch from Cape Canaveral at the Florida Air Force Station, landing at the Jezero crater on Mars.

NASA offered people to get their names carried on missions to Mars several times, including Mars Science Lab, Mars Exploration Rovers, MAVEN, Orion, and InSight projects.