Dit is ons nieuw hondje Kira, een kruising van een waterhond en een Podenko. Ze is sinds 7 februari 2024 bij ons en druk bezig ons hart te veroveren. Het is een lief, aanhankelijk hondje, dat zich op een week snel aan ons heeft aangepast. Ze is heel vinnig en nieuwsgierig, een heel ander hondje dan Noleke.
This is our new dog Kira, a cross between a water dog and a Podenko. She has been with us since February 7, 2024 and is busy winning our hearts. She is a sweet, affectionate dog who quickly adapted to us within a week. She is very quick and curious, a very different dog than Noleke.
DEAR VISITOR,
MY BLOG EXISTS NEARLY 13 YEARS AND 4 MONTH.
ON /30/09/2024 MORE THAN 2.230.520
VISITORS FROM 135 DIFFERENT NATIONS ALREADY FOUND THEIR WAY TO MY BLOG.
THAT IS AN AVERAGE OF 400GUESTS PER DAY.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG AND HOPE YOU ENJOY EACH TIME.
The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
Druk op onderstaande knop om te reageren in mijn forum
Zoeken in blog
Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
Een interessant adres?
UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld In België had je vooral BUFON of het Belgisch UFO-Netwerk, dat zich met UFO's bezighoudt. BEZOEK DUS ZEKER VOOR ALLE OBJECTIEVE INFORMATIE , enkel nog beschikbaar via Facebook en deze blog.
Verder heb je ook het Belgisch-Ufo-meldpunt en Caelestia, die prachtig, doch ZEER kritisch werk leveren, ja soms zelfs héél sceptisch...
Voor Nederland kan je de mooie site www.ufowijzer.nl bezoeken van Paul Harmans. Een mooie site met veel informatie en artikels.
MUFON of het Mutual UFO Network Inc is een Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in alle USA-staten en diverse landen.
MUFON's mission is the analytical and scientific investigation of the UFO- Phenomenon for the benefit of humanity...
Je kan ook hun site bekijken onder www.mufon.com.
Ze geven een maandelijks tijdschrift uit, namelijk The MUFON UFO-Journal.
Since 02/01/2020 is Pieter ex-president (=voorzitter) of BUFON, but also ex-National Director MUFON / Flanders and the Netherlands. We work together with the French MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP.
ER IS EEN NIEUWE GROEPERING DIE ZICH BUFON NOEMT, MAAR DIE HEBBEN NIETS MET ONZE GROEP TE MAKEN. DEZE COLLEGA'S GEBRUIKEN DE NAAM BUFON VOOR HUN SITE... Ik wens hen veel succes met de verdere uitbouw van hun groep. Zij kunnen de naam BUFON wel geregistreerd hebben, maar het rijke verleden van BUFON kunnen ze niet wegnemen...
28-08-2018
Remains of 4,000-year-old lost city with 230-foot-tall pyramid and pits filled with human SKULLS from mass sacrifices discovered in China
Remains of 4,000-year-old lost city with 230-foot-tall pyramid and pits filled with human SKULLS from mass sacrifices discovered in China
Archaeologists discovered massive stepped pyramid that stood at least 230ft
Pyramid was defended by two huge wall, with whole city spanning 988 acres
Researchers also found several pits filled with human skulls from mass sacrifice
The discovery could reshape our understanding of early Chinese civilization
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a lost city in China that thrived more than 4,000 years ago.
On a ridge above China’s Tuwei River, researchers found a massive stepped pyramid that once served as a palace center, along with defensive stone walls, tool-making debris, and several pits filled with sacrificial human skulls.
The Bronze Age discoveries challenge our understanding of early Chinese civilization and settlement, suggesting the loess highland was home to a complex society long before the traditionally assumed ‘centers’ emerged in the Central Plains.
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a lost city in China that thrived more than 4,000 years ago. The pyramid was build out of a loess hill, with 11 massive steps tapering as they ascend, as shown above
The ancient city dubbed Shimao was home to a pyramid that stood at least 230 feet tall (70 meters), and was guarded by a huge inner and outer wall.
Thousands of years ago when it flourished, from about 2300 BC to 1800 BC, the city spanned about 988 acres.
The pyramid was build out of a loess hill, with 11 massive steps tapering as they ascend, the researchers write in a paper published to the journal Antiquity.
Beyond the entrance, they found a ‘large open plaza where rituals and political gatherings may have been held.’
According to the researchers, palaces were built atop the huge pyramid out of rammed earth with wooden pillars and roofing tiles.
The ancient city dubbed Shimao was home to a pyramid that stood at least 230 feet tall (70 meters), and was guarded by a huge inner and outer wall. Thousands of years ago when it flourished, from about 2300 BC to 1800 BC, the city spanned about 988 acres
On a ridge above China’s Tuwei River, researcher found a massive stepped pyramid that once served as a palace center, along with defensive stone walls, tool-making debris, and a pit filled with sacrificial human skulls
It’s thought that the ruling elites lived atop the pyramid complex, which was likely also the site of artisanal or industrial craft production.
Eyes and anthropomorphic stone faces were found carved into the façade of the pyramid.
‘With its imposing height of at least 70 m, the pyramid could be seen from everywhere within the settlement, from the suburbs and even the rural fringes.
‘Thus it could well have provided a constant and overwhelming reminder to the Shimao population of the power of the ruling elites residing atop it – a concrete example of the ‘social pyramid.’
It’s thought that the ruling elites lived atop the pyramid complex, which was likely also the site of artisanal or industrial craft production
Researchers say mass sacrifices were also commonplace at Shimao, with six pits containing decapitated human heads discovered at the site on the outer rampart alone.
Human remains and jade objects associated with sacrifice were found at other Shimao monuments, as well.
‘The jade objects and human sacrifice may have imbued the very walls of Shimao with ritual and religious potency, amplifying its significance as a monumental center, enhancing the protective efficacy of the walls and making this a place of power in every sense,’ the authors wrote.
Beyond the entrance, they found a ‘large open plaza where rituals and political gatherings may have been held.’ According to the researchers, palaces were built atop the huge pyramid out of rammed earth with wooden pillars and roofing tiles
WHAT HAVE RESEARCHERS FOUND AT THE SHIMAO RUINS?
The Shimao Ruins is the site of a neolithic stone city in the northern province of Shaanxi, China.
The site was first discovered in 1976 when archaeologists thought it was a small town, but more of the city has since been recovered.
Measuring 4 square kilometres, it is the largest of its kind in Neolithic China, China.org reported.
They believe it had ‘magnificent’ stone walls for inner and outer structures.
Experts have also discovered large quantities of precious carved jade, which indicate it was a wealthy and important city at the time.
Archaeologists have also found a mural at the site, which they think could be among the oldest in China at around 4,000 years old.
Notably, the researchers say the discoveries are indicative of Shimao’s status as carefully constructed civilization.
‘This research reveals that by 2000 BC, the loess highland was home to a complex society representing the political and economic heartland,’ the authors wrote.
‘Significantly, it was found that Later Bronze Age core symbols associated with Central plains civilization were, in fact, created much earlier at Shimao.’
The Bronze Age discoveries challenge our understanding of early Chinese civilization and settlement, suggesting the loess highland was home to a complex society long before the traditionally assumed ‘centers’ emerged in the Central Plains
Resten van verloren stad met 70 meter hoge piramide ontdekt in China. Archeologen doen opmerkelijke vondst
Resten van verloren stad met 70 meter hoge piramide ontdekt in China. Archeologen doen opmerkelijke vondst
Archeologen hebben in China de resten gevonden van een meer dan 4000 jaar oude verloren stad. Dat schrijft de Daily Mail.
Bij de rivier Tuwei stuitten onderzoekers op een reusachtige trappenpiramide, muren en verschillende putten vol menselijke schedels.
In de stad, die de naam Shimao heeft gekregen, staat een piramide die ooit ruim 70 meter hoog moet zijn geweest.
Paleizen
De verloren stad strekte zich uit over een gebied van 400 hectare. De piramide bestaat uit 11 enorme trappen, schrijver de onderzoekers in het tijdschrift Antiquity.
Volgens de wetenschappers werden bovenop de enorme piramide paleizen gebouwd. Ze denken dat de heersende elite daar leefde.
“De piramide kon overal in de stad worden gezien, vanuit de buitenwijken en zelfs vanaf het omringende platteland,” klinkt het.
Mensenoffers
Het bouwwerk kan volgens de onderzoekers een betonnen versie van de sociale piramide zijn geweest, waarbij het volk onderaan staat en de heersende elite bovenaan de top.
In Shimao werden ook vaak mensenoffers gebracht. Er werden zes putten vol afgehakte schedels aangetroffen.
Foto: Tortfeasor~commonswiki Wikimedia Commons (Piramide van het Oosten in Jian, China)
“In the center of that frame is a man sitting, bending forward. He has a mask on his nose, he uses his two hands to manipulate some controls, and the heel of his left foot is on a kind of pedal with different adjustments. The rear portion is separated from him; he is sitting on a complicated chair, and outside of this whole frame, you see a little flame like an exhaust…”
Mayans - Tomb of King Pacal - Palenque, Mexico
Fans of Erich Von Daniken will recognize that quote from “Chariots of the Gods” describing the inscriptions on the lid of the sarcophagus of one K’inich Janaab Pakal I — a.k.a Pacal, Pacal the Great and the “Astronaut of Palenque.” That last epithet refers directly to one particular engraving on the slab which looks like a man in a spaceship that is similar to a U.S. space capsule which, coincidentally, was a popular image in 1968 when the book was written. Much was written about the book, both agreeing with and disputing the theory. While it was never clear if the man was Pacal, that may change with the discovery of a mask believed to have been worn by the longest-reigning Mayan leader. Is this the proof of ancient astronauts?
According to a press release, the discovery was made by Jorge Gutiérrez, Culture Secretary, Diego Prieto, Head of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH); Carlos Morelos, Municipal President of Palenque, and Carlos Suárez Deputy Secretary for Culture in that Unit. The researchers were working in House E of Palenque’s Palace building while work was being done to deal with water problems in the area. Coincidentally, the artifacts found with the mask related to water too, according to archaeologist Benito Vengas Durán. (Photos here.)
“During this process, under the (mask) head there were figurines, ceramic pieces, smallplates, a lot of fish bones, which gives insight of a possible relationship with aquatics.”
What makes these researchers so sure this is a mask of Pacal? The Mayans were known to attempt to depict the features of their leaders accurately. The mask has an “outbreak in the mouth” which would be common for someone who was very old in this era of poor medical care — Pakal lived and ruled until the age of 80.
Palenque
The real question is, is this the mask of an ancient alien – and if so, was Pacal really the Astronaut of Palenque? Von Daniken’s theory has been discounted by many who believe the lid of the sarcophagus depicts the World Tree and merely symbolizes Pacal’s death and journey to the afterlife. There is still doubt about the identity of the bones in the coffin, especially the teeth which were in remarkably good shape of an 80-year-old. The answer from skeptics is most likely “no.”
The answer from the Mexican tourism bureau is more likely to be, “Come on down and visit Palenque, where we may or may not have found the mask of the Astronaut of Palenque!”
This article is about a mysterious discovery, that was once claimed to have been made, deep within cave systems within Ecuador which some believe, were originally man made.
A discovery, that although now concealed from the world, was photographed, studied and documented, thanks to the array of artefacts, which had been amassed by an individual known as father Crespi.
An entire, seemingly alien metallic library, completed with hundreds of sheets of gold, platinum, and other precious metals, hammered out to reveal an astonishing, unknown language, clearly left by a people of tremendous capabilities.
The caves in which this find is claimed to have been made, is known as Cueva de los Tayos.
And although any such discovery is denied by the Ecuadorian authorities, the Ecuadorian and interesting united kingdom’s governments, funded an extensive search of the cave systems, soon after the claims became public.
It attracted the attention of numerous individual, who travelled into the depths of these caves, including Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon.
What Mystery History wishes to focus on this video however, is the enormous, seemingly man-made caverns, which are to be found within the cave systems.
They feel, if these cave systems are indeed one day admitted, as having once been artificially hewn from the bedrock, then this would undeniably reveal tremendous flaws in academia’s claims, as to the geology and indeed true history of the area.
The cave system is so enormous, it has yet to be fully explored by modern man, yet what has been explored, has revealed highly compelling features, which corroborate earlier claims of an artificial origin.
The Moricz portal for example, named after Juan Moricz, the individual who claims to have originally discovered the metallic library, is clearly of an artificial nature.
The question is, why go to such lengths to construct this natural looking cave system?
Was it all created merely to hide this library?
And if so, how important could the information held within be?
And why did such a find, attract the attention of the first man on the moon?
Did the astronaut know something we are yet to discover?
Juan Moricz signed affidavit dated 8 July 1969, in which, he confessed to a meeting with the Ecuadorian president, where he received complete control over his discovery, provided he could produce photographic evidence, and an independent witness corroborating the discovery.
When Moricz met with von Däniken in 1972, he took him to a secret entrance, through which, they entered a large artificial hall within cave system.
Apparently, von Däniken never got to see the library itself, he wrote in his book, The Gold of the Gods: quote:
“The passages all form perfect right angles. Sometimes they are narrow, sometimes wide. The walls are smooth and often seem to be polished. The ceilings are flat and at times look as if they were covered with a kind of glaze…My doubts about the existence of the underground tunnels vanished as if by magic, and I felt tremendously happy. Moricz said passages like those extended for hundreds of miles, under the soils of Ecuador and Peru.” End quote.
It seems unquestionable whether sections of cuevas de los tayos, were indeed man-made, we feel the question now is, who went to these unimaginable efforts, so far back within history?
Why create such a place deep within the earth, with such an intended illusion of natural origin, if you did not seek to hide something?
Many still believe that the truth is still hidden deep inside its unexplored caverns, a truth that will force us to completely rewrite the history of mankind.
Even today, the caves remain the obsession of many explorers, seeking to find the answer to its artificially created blocks of stone.
Are the legends true surrounding Cuevos De Los Tayos?
Did it once indeed contain an ancient metallic library, left to us by an ancient civilization?
Strange spherical object shoots out of the clouds during lightning storm over Mexico
Strange spherical object shoots out of the clouds during lightning storm over Mexico
During a lightning storm over San Juan Tepic Nayarit, Mexico during a storm on Aug 22, 2018 a strange spherical object shoots out of the clouds flying at high speed over city before it disappears.
We may wonder whether it was a UFO or some sort of ball lightning or something that is connected to the UFO/Lightning phenomenon, a phenomenon that is assumed that UFOs are using the electromagnetic energy from lightning storms.
Are we ready for ALIEN contact? Former MoD man warns 'we're NOT and it's a mistake'
Are we ready for ALIEN contact? Former MoD man warns 'we're NOT and it's a mistake'
AFTER Germany revealed it has no contingency plans ready in the event of first contact with aliens, a former Ministry of Defence (MoD) insider told Express.co.uk nations are making a “big mistake” by not preparing.
Nick Pope, who worked for the British Government between 1985 and 2006, has claimed neither the UK nor any other country is truly prepared for whatever may be lurking in the void of space.
Between 1991 and 1994 Mr Pope examined UFO sightings for the MoD in a bid to determine if they had any defence-related significance.
The MoD pulled the plug on the UFO project in 2009 and Mr Pope has since extensively toured the world, giving lectures at seminars and alien-related conferences.
Which is why he told Express.co.uk he was not surprised to hear this month the German government has no plan ready for the possibility of first contact with extraterrestrials.
Earlier in August, the German Ministry of Economics said in a statement it considered first contact “extremely unlikely according to current scientific knowledge”.
Mr Pope has now said people are quick to dismiss calls for the creation of contingency plans.
He told Express.co.uk: “I was interested but not surprised to see that Germany has no official plan for what to do in the event of encountering extraterrestrials.
“The UK doesn't have a plan either – nobody does – and I think this is a big mistake.
Alien news: Nick Pope believes nations are not prepared for the eventuality of first contact
(Image: NICK POPE/GETTY)
“People respond to the suggestion of a plan in two ways. Sceptics say it's a waste of time, while conspiracy theorists say there is a plan but the government isn't telling us.”
Mr Pope is certain the UK does not have a contingency plan drafted because odds are he would have been the very person to write it up.
The UFO expert said scepticism aside, it would be prudent for the Government to prepare for what could be the single “most high-impact scenario you could imagine” – meeting aliens.
According to Mr Pope, the Cabinet Office with input from the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser and the MoD should coordinate this effort.
He outlined three main scenarios that would fall under the umbrella of alien first contact.
The UK doesn't have a plan either – nobody does – and I think this is a big mistake
Nick Pope, UFO expert
This would include detecting radio signals from distant alien civilisations, discovering alien microbial life within the boundaries of the solar system or the arrival of alien ships and probes over Earth.
Mr Pope said: “Some of the issues that need to be addressed in a plan include the potential biological hazard posed by extraterrestrial life, and the question of whether we should reply to any message we receive from aliens – and if so, who should reply and what should they say.
“But there are more subtle issues. What if we pick up a message from another civilisation but can't decipher it? Should it be published?
“Given that it might contain advanced scientific and technological information that someone could weaponise, probably not.
Aliens news: The former MoD man said countries need to draft appropriate legislation
(Image: GETTY)
Alien news: Aliens could exist as intelligent species or microbial life
(Image: GETTY)
“There are bits and pieces of existing guidance that can help us with all this.”
Mr Pope said US space agency NASA has some guidance concerning “planetary protection” from potential extraterrestrial contaminants.
But the UFO expert stressed little is being done in terms of binding legislation to cover these issues in a “single document”, on a national and international scale.
Mr Pope said he is ready to draft such a contingency plant for further consultation with appropriate experts and stakeholders.
NASA’s 1st mission to a near-Earth asteroid is now on its final approach, and the space agency released the craft’s 1st images late last week. It’ll arrive at asteroid Bennu on December 3.
NASA released the first images from its OSIRIS-REx mission on August 24, 2018. The mission launched in September, 2016, and, since then, has been traveling toward asteroid Bennu. Now it’s in the final approach phase of the mission, which is due to arrive at the asteroid on December 3.
The animation below consists of a cropped set of 5 images, obtained by the PolyCam camera on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft over the course of an hour for calibration purposes and to assist the mission’s navigation team. It captured these images when the spacecraft had already traveled approximately 1.1 billion miles (1.8 billion km) since its September 8, 2016, launch.
At the time, the craft was only 1.4 million miles (2.3 million km) from asteroid Bennu … and closing.
This animation consists of 5 of the 1st images of asteroid Bennu via the OSIRIS-REx mission, acquired August 17, 2018, at 1.4 million miles (2.3 million km), or almost 6 times the distance between the Earth and moon. The asteroid is visible as a moving object against the stars in front of the constellation Serpens. The spacecraft is due to arrive at the asteroid on December 3, 2018.
The coming months will be exciting as OSIRIS-REx – aka the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer – draws closer to its target. OSIRIS-REx is NASA’s first mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid, survey the surface, collect a sample and deliver it back to Earth. That asteroid sample is expected to return to Earth via free fall from space, until it reaches an altitude of 20.8 miles (33.5 km), when a first parachute will deploy. At 1.9 miles (3 km), the main parachute will be released, bringing the capsule with its precious cargo from Bennu in for a soft landing in the Utah desert on September 24, 2023.
Thus the mission will take seven years, from launch to sample return. Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson, commented:
Now that OSIRIS-REx is close enough to observe Bennu, the mission team will spend the next few months learning as much as possible about Bennu’s size, shape, surface features and surroundings before the spacecraft arrives at the asteroid.
After spending so long planning for this moment, I can’t wait to see what Bennu reveals to us.
Bottom line:This week NASA released the 1st images of asteroid Bennu via OSIRIS-REx, its first mission to a near-Earth asteroid. The spacecraft will arrive at Bennu on December 3.
ISS camera filmed a strange encounter between two bizarre objects over our heads
ISS camera filmed a strange encounter between two bizarre objects over our heads
The International Space Station camera is watched by many online. It shows a live feed from the ISS and in the past people have said it has captured UFOs. Recently one user of YouTube captured footage 7 minutes in length that seems to show a strange encounter took place in space.
Two Metallic Objects Approached Each Other
Someone posted the footage of what they say is an encounter between two objects in space. The video went down well with fans of UFO and the strange. It shows what seem to be two gilded metal objects approaching each other slowly in space. However, it does look like NASA might also have noticed the objects and eventually cut the feed, as they have done before.
The encounter between the strange objects occurred directly in front of the International Space Station. People who watched the video capture of the event said that it was weird that NASA did not cut the feed earlier. In the past, people watching the feed have said they have seen something strange, and the feed is abruptly cut off.
Artifacts or Alien Spacecraft Meeting?
This time the feed was left running for seven minutes before being cut off. In the first four of those minutes, the two objects seem to be partially transparent. Skeptics were quick to suggest that the appearance of the objects were merely artifacts probably caused by flares from the camera lens. However, after the four minutes mark the objects take on a more apparent full look to them, doing away with the thought of them being artifacts from the camera.
It was also pointed out that the objects do seem to have subtle adjustments made to them. For instance, they speed up, the shape of them seems to change slowly, and they light up.
Objects seem to Have Spheres Attached to Them
Many people who have watched the video are of the belief that what was witnessed was a close encounter between two alien craft. Between the fourth and fifth minutes of the video, a three-dimensional change occurs in the object's appearance when light moves around. It looks like the objects have spheres attached to them.
The video has had people drawing many conclusions about what the objects were. One person said they thought the image to the right might be the Hubble satellite, while on the left it might be the Black Knight.
Did Those on the ISS Know the Objects Were There?
What was pointed out was the fact that the speed of both objects corresponded to that of the ISS. As the objects remained in view throughout the video until the feed was stopped, the assumption is that those on the International Space Station knew the objects were there. It is also thought that the craft might have known the ISS was there and had seen it before.
Of course, this is not the first time a meeting such as this has been captured by the ISS camera, nor is it the first time someone has spoken up about an alien meeting. Mark McClelland, a former engineer at NASA said that he had been at a meeting that took place between an alien that was 9 feet tall and astronauts. This meeting was said to have occurred in the cargo bay on a space shuttle. Something similar might have occurred on the ISS.
Geological evidence proves that the Great Sphinx is 800,000 years old
Geological evidence proves that the Great Sphinx is 800,000 years old
One of the most mysterious and mysterious monuments on the surface of the planet is, without a doubt, the Great Sphinx on the Giza Plateau in Egypt. It is an ancient building that has astounded researchers since its discovery and to this day no one has been able to date the sphinx accurately, as there are no written records or mentions of it in the past.
Now two Ukrainian researchers have put forward a new provocative theory in which they suggest that the Great Sphinx of Egypt is about 800,000 years old. A revolutionary theory supported by scientific knowledge.
The authors of this paper are scientists Manichev Vjacheslav I. (Institute of Environmental Geochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) and Alexander G. Parkhomenko (Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine).
The starting point for these two experts is the paradigm shift initiated by West and Schoch, a "debate" to overcome the orthodox view of Egyptology, which refers to possible distant origins of Egyptian civilization, and on the other hand physical evidence of water erosion that is present at the monuments of the Giza Plateau.
Manichev and Parkhomenko explain: The problem of dating the construction of the Great Sphinx of Egypt still exists despite the long history of research. Geological approaches in conjunction with other scientific methods make it possible to answer the question of the relative age of the Sphinx.
The visual examination of the sphinx led to the conclusion that water from large waters, which partially flooded the monument, played an important role in the formation of undulating depressions on its vertical walls. The morphology of these formations shows an analogy to similar cavities formed by the sea in the coastal zones.
The genetic similarity of the compared erosion forms and the geological structure and petrographic composition of the sedimentary rock complexes lead to the conclusion that the decisive factor for the destruction of the historical monument is rather the wave energy than the sand abrasion in the aeolian process.
Extensive geological literature confirms the existence of long-lived freshwater lakes in different periods of the Quaternary from the Lower Pleistocene to the Holocene. These lakes were scattered over the areas bordering the Nile. The absolute marking of the upper large erosion cave of the sphinx corresponds to the water surface level reached in the early Pleistocene. The Great Egyptian Sphinx had thus already stood on the Giza plateau at this geological (historical) time.
Melting Permafrost Below Arctic Lakes Is Even More Dangerous to the Climate, NASA Warns
Melting Permafrost Below Arctic Lakes Is Even More Dangerous to the Climate, NASA Warns
By Meghan Bartels, Space.com Senior Writer
Scientists have worried for years that rising temperatures will free carbon trapped in frozen soil in the Arctic, accelerating the pace of climate change — but now they believe abrupt thawing below lakes is even more dangerous.
That's the finding of a new paper published as part of a 10-year NASA collaboration to study how climate change will play out in the icy Arctic region.
"We don't have to wait 200 or 300 years to get these large releases of permafrost carbon," lead study author Katey Walter Anthony, an ecologist at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, said in a NASA statement about the research. "Within my lifetime, my children's lifetime, it should be ramping up. It's already happening but it's not happening at a really fast rate right now, but within a few decades, it should peak." [Climate Change Strengthens Earth's 'Heartbeat' — and That's Bad News
The new research is based on measurements and models of how climate change and melting permafrost interact. Specifically, the team of scientists looked at permafrost melting below bodies of water known as thermokarst lakes.
The team behind the new research measured carbon release at 72 different locations on 11 thermokarst lakes across Siberia and Alaska, plus five locations without lakes, to calculate how much greenhouse gas was being produced and how old the carbon it contained was. Then, they used this data to make sure the models they were building were on the right track.
Here's the problem: When permanently frozen dirt melts, the bacteria trapped inside it become active again, munch through whatever organic material is in reach, and produce carbon dioxide and methane, which are both powerful greenhouse gases
But when that happens below thermokarst lakes, the process is even grimmer because the water at the surface speeds up the melting below. The released gases, built with carbon atoms between 2,000 and 43,000 years old, quickly rise up through the lake and into the atmosphere.
"Within decades you can get very deep thaw-holes, meters to tens of meters of vertical thaw," Walter Anthony said in the statement. "So you’re flash thawing the permafrost under these lakes. And we have very easily measured ancient greenhouse gases coming out."
Moreover, the team also found that this abrupt thawing was still a concern even under a scenario in which humans tried to rein in their greenhouse-gas production and slow climate change. And, of course, the more permafrost melts, the faster the melting continues — making all this grim news indeed.
The research is described in a paper published Wednesday (Aug. 15) in the journal Nature Communications.
This Week's Top Space Stories! By Chelsea Gohd, Space.com Staff Writer
This Week's Top Space Stories!
By Chelsea Gohd, Space.com Staff Writer
Photo Credit: Chelsea Gohd/Space.com
The Week's Top Space Stories
Pence is making space "plans," night sky superstar Steve got a dramatic rebranding, and researchers have discovered water ice on the moon! It's Space.com's best news stories of the week.
Photo Credit: NASA
1. Moon water!?
In an incredible discovery, researchers have confirmed the presence of water ice around the moon's north and south poles.
"Steve," the fantastic phenomenon thought to be an aurora turns out to be a complete mystery, and scientists are now referring to Steve as a "sky glow."
NASA has protected its Orion spacecraft with a specialized heat shield that will come in handy when the craft eventually (and hopefully) carries human passengers beyond low Earth orbit.
Theorists suggest that universes that came before ours were full of black holes — which we can detect traces of using radiation from the cosmic microwave background.
On Aug. 17, NASA announced that it will allow SpaceX to use a "Load-and-Go" fueling method that has been criticized in the past, where the fuel is loaded once astronauts are already aboard the spacecraft.
SpaceX stands to be the first private company in history to launch humans past the atmosphere as early as April 2019. The company’s Crew Dragon capsule has been selected to begin conducting uncrewed testing for NASA’s reborn space shuttle program no earlier than November 2018, and SpaceX is gearing up by retrofitting the spacecraft’s recovery ship.
The GO Searcher will be solely responsible for fishing the Crew Dragon and the astronauts that will one day be aboard out of the ocean once the capsule re-enters the atmosphere. To prepare for this crucial step, Elon Musk’s aerospace company has begun modifying the ship with three big updates to streamline the recovery process.
The ship has already been performing mock recovery trials for the past year, preparing for an eventual dress rehearsal. These additions should help the Crew Dragon pass the tests that are required for it to be adopted by NASA’s space program.
1. Crewed Dragon Upgrades: Helicopter Pad
A helipad is currently under construction in the central area of the vessel. This will allow for the quick and easy transport of astronauts from the capsule to Cape Canaveral. It will also serve to get engineers, doctors, and other personnel necessary for recovery efforts aboard the ship.
GO Searcher will be many kilometers off of the coast of Florida during its eventual recovery missions, so making it accessible by air is a critical step in speeding up the process.
2. Crewed Dragon Upgrades: Potential Radar Dome
A big white dome has been added to the vessel, which will likely function as means to facilities communications with Crew Dragon or radar detection.
This piece of equipment was attached toward the front end of the ship during the course of a few weeks it was in maintenance.
3. Crewed Dragon Upgrades: Hydraulic Lift
Finally, the GO Searcher will be receiving a hydraulic arm designed to lift the Crew Dragon out of the water and into the ship to be transported back to shore. This was placed at the rear of the vessel, where the capsule will come to rest in a flat area.
All three of these upgrades have the potential to improve the prep time for recovery missions as well as assist during the operations itself. We’ll have to wait and see how they perform on the day of the Crew Dragon’s first uncrewed test run.
Over the years and decades, there have been a number of “waves” and “flaps” of UFO activity. There was, of course, the huge surge of activity that began in June 1947, with the case of pilot Kenneth Arnold. In the wake of the Arnold incident, numerous reports of Flying Saucers dominated the U.S. media – and elsewhere too. In the summer of 1952, Washington, D.C. was the target of multiple UFOs. Two years later, there was another huge wave of activity, much of which was focused on Europe. And, in October 1973, there was yet another flap in the United States. In 1989 and 1990, Belgium was hit by countless numbers of encounters with what became known as “Flying Triangles.” Less well known, however, are the large numbers of encounters that occurred in Spain, back in the 1970s.
At the time of the encounters – which ran from late 1973 to mid-1974 – the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) took an interest in these encounters. Eight separate reports have now been declassified so far. The most interesting one is a document titled “Spanish UFO Sightings” that surfaced, in the 1980s, from the archives of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). It’s a collection of data that the DoD secured specifically from Spanish newspapers and that provides a notable and useful look at that large wave of activity.
The DoD stated: “During the period September 1973 to June 1974 a rash of UFOs appeared over Spain and sightings were reported by various types of people.
The following table summarizes these sightings.
Date: 11 Sep 73. Location: El Ferrol del Caudillo. Description: Bright, circular, with two hoops, appeared to have feet on bottom part. Emitted a very powerful light. Observer: Various. Remarks: Was immobile during time of observation.
Date: 11 Dec 73 (early morning). Location: Malaga. Description: Circular, like a flying saucer, had an intense red light. Observer: Various residents of Salitro and Cuarteles Streets, Malaga. Remarks: Remained quiet for about 15 minutes, then departed suddenly towards Torremolinos.”
While the cases described above were fairly scant – in terms of the data available – that cannot be said for all the reports.
Consider, for example, all of the following, which are far more intriguing:
“Date: 23 Mar 74. Location: 5 kilometers south of Castille de las Guardas. Description: Mother-ship – aluminum, 150-200 meters long. Three smaller ships resembling mushrooms. Flew silently, had no windows but towers above and below. Observer: Traveling salesman from Sevilla. Remarks: Was pursued by one of the smaller ships, which disappeared as observer entered village of Castillo de las Gaurdas.”
Also on March 23, there was this:
“Date: 23 Mar 74. Location: On highway near Sanlucar de Barrameda. Description: Luminous, metal-like. Observer: Chauffeur of President of Cadis Provincial Commission. Remarks: Object moved upward with great brilliancy. As observer approached object, he felt a strange sensation. His car finally came practically to a stop, wavering back and forth like a feather.”
Moving on to March 1974, the DoD noted this case: “Date: 26 Mar 74. Location: Valdehjijaderos. Description: Luminous. Strange object like a plate placed above another large, round object. Observer: 21-year-old truck driver. Remarks: Was motionless over the highway about 200 meters from observer. A similar object, also motionless, was seen 15-20 meters away. Two beings came out of the first vehicle, pointed to observer’s truck, then went in again and both UFO’s flew away.”
One day later there was yet another development:
“Date: 27 Mar 74. Location: Valdehjijaderos. Description: Silver. Observer: 21-year-old truck driver. Remarks: Three silver ships parked on the highway with light similar to floodlight. Observer stopped motor of his car and some figures approached him. He ran, frightened, and they followed him. He threw himself into a gutter. His pursuers passed within 2 meters and he saw them. They were about 2 meters tall, had arms and legs but he did not see their faces. After they passed he returned to the truck. The beings returned to observe him again, then they entered their ships and left. Next day the Guardia Civil made an investigation. They found a hole in the ground, which the truck driver said he had not made.”
That was not the only incident that occurred on the same day, the 27th:
“Date: 27 Mar 74. Location: Malaga. Description: Big, luminous, moved slowly, pale like a gaseous mass. Observer: Photographer. Remarks: Photographed by 25 cm teleobjective lens, published in local paper. Later two more UFO’s were discovered when the negative was developed. The UFO sighted disappeared slowly. Fifteen minutes later a small blue-violet mass was visible.”
Matters were still afoot in April:
“Date: 14 Apr 74. Location: Herrera de Alcantara. Description: Rhomboid, formed by luminous, hoary lights. In upper lefthand part there was a pink-yellowish semicircle which became a circle as UFO came near ground level. Student claims he heard a prolonged noise like that from an old alarm clock. Professor estimated size of smaller diagonal of rhomboid to be about 20 meters. Observer: Professor, his wife and a student. Remarks: Was observed at ground level from a distance of 300 meters for 5 or 6 minutes, then flew northeast.”
Now, on to mid-June:
“Date: 16 June 74 (5 a.m.). Location: Caceres. Description: Luminous, emitting brilliant light on the highway. Observer: 46-year-old laborer. Remarks: Was pursued by UFO for several kilometers at great speed. Saw three tall figures standing inside the ship. When observer extinguished the lights on his car, the object drew away. Then as he turned them on again, UFO approached again at enormous speed some 70 meters over his car. It followed him home and when he turned out his car lights, it slowly flew away.”
Interestingly, the Department of Defense also noted, in closing: “Comments: It is of interest to note that in April of this year teams of extra sensory perception specialists held a meeting in Malaga for the purpose of scientifically studying the UFOs seen in that vicinity. Results of this meeting unknown.”
There are certain archeological finds that are worthy of being described as something that will “change history as we know it.” Often, the find includes a pyramid where there aren’t any others, a huge lost city, gold and jewels beyond description and, of course, massive human sacrifices. A new discover in China check all of those boxes. Is it change-worthy?
“Evidence so far suggests that the stepped pyramid complex functioned not only as a residential space for ruling Shimao elites, but also as a space for artisanal or industrial craft production.”
When you’re located in close proximity to the Great Wall of China, your identity can easily be absorbed by it. That seems to have been the case with a pile of rubble in Shenmu County, Shaanxi, in central China. Known for centuries as the location of the ancient city of Shimao, the pieces of structural stones were indeed part of a wall, but recent excavation at the site reported in the journal Antiquity and in LiveScience found that the stones were in a wall surrounding an ancient – and quite large — lost city … one that predates the Great Wall by around 1500 years. In fact, while some people were just starting on the Great Wall, the residents of Shimao had already completed a 70-meter (230 foot) step pyramid. Why did the Wall survive while Shimao did not?
Example of a step pyramid
“In the outer gateway of the eastern gate on the outer rampart alone, six pits containing decapitated human heads have been found.”
A team of archaeologists led by Li Jaang, a professor at the School of History at Zhengzhou University, found evidence that a city whose unknown name predate Shimao was located at the site and the surrounding area of almost 1000 acres. Built 4,300 years ago, it would have been one of the largest cities on the world at some point during its 500 year existence. The walls surrounding the city were unusual in that they were made with stone rather than just compressed mounds of dirt and contained pieces of jade between the stones. The walls appeared to be high enough and strong enough to protect the large city from invaders and keep some residents from wandering off … or escaping. Why would they do that?
“Morphological analysis of the human remains suggests that the victims may have been related to the residents of Zhukaigou, which could further suggest that they were taken to Shimao as captives during the expansion of the Shimao polity.”
While the structures of Shimao, especially the palaces and the pyramid, are elaborately designed and decorated with carved jade stones and murals from skilled local craft workers, historians also point out that the citizens were known to the surrounding area as “barbarians.” The size of the city indicates its power over the area and the pyramid is evidence of its religious significance for a culture that practiced extensive human sacrifice.
What caused the downfall of this large and seemingly powerful walled city and religious center at a time when the Great Wall was being built to protect everyone else? That’s still open for further research.
Is this a history-changing discovery? Not yet. What it proves once again is that practicing human sacrifice doesn’t seem to allow cities to survive.
That’s an historical lesson still worth remembering.
US Air Force's Mysterious X-37B Plane Spotted Above Netherlands (PHOTOS)
US Air Force's Mysterious X-37B Plane Spotted Above Netherlands (PHOTOS)
Say cheese! The US Air Force's X-37B space plane was photographed by Netherlands-based satellite tracker Marco Langbroek on Monday as it traveled over the Dutch city of Leiden.
While details about the plane's orbit are mostly kept from the public, Langbroek told Space.com that he's certain he captured the aircraft, as he works with a small band of skywatchers that track its path.
Dr Marco Langbroek@Marco_Langbroek
The secret X-37B space plane OTV-5 as I imaged it from Leiden 40 minutes ago. Showed a brief flare (middle image), while it was entering at the edge of the camera FOV. canon EOS 60D + EF 2.0/35 mm lens
According to Langbroek, the aircraft was in very low orbit, flying at an altitude between 193 and 202 miles. "Basically, only one type of object fits this: X-37B. Previous X-37B missions we tracked also orbited at such very low altitudes. The object also has a similar brightness to previous OTV missions," he said.
At the request of the US Air Force, SpaceX only aired the first few minutes of the shuttle's liftoff before cutting off the feed. The launch also broke new ground, as it was first time that an OTV was sent into orbit by a rocket provider that wasn't the United Launch Alliance.
With X-37B just two weeks shy of marking its one-year anniversary in orbit, officials have indicated that the latest mission will likely continue the trend of outlasting previous flight times, according to Space Flight Insider. OTV-1 spent 224 days in space; OTV-2, 468 days; OTV-3, 675 days; and OTV-4, 718 days.
Per the Insider, when OTV-5 does wrap up its mission, it's likely to land at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. It added that despite the military's attempts to keep mum on the purpose of the project, information has leaked out, revealing that hardware stowed inside the vehicle was developed in order to test "a thermal management system optimized for the space environment."
The US Air Force is known to have two OTVs, both which were built by Boeing. According to Space.com, both vehicles measure in at 29 feet long and 9.6 feet tall, with a payload bay roughly the size of a pickup truck bed.
Geheim ruimtevliegtuig X-37B gespot boven Leiden. Bekijk hier de foto’s
Geheim ruimtevliegtuig X-37B gespot boven Leiden. Bekijk hier de foto’s
Het mysterieuze ruimtevliegtuig X-37B van de Amerikaanse luchtmacht is door satellietspotter Marco Langbroek waargenomen boven Leiden.
Hoewel details over de omloopbaan van het vliegtuig geheim worden gehouden, is Langbroek er zeker van dat hij het op camera heeft vastgelegd, zo laat hij weten aan Space.com.
Volgens de satellietspotter vloog het mysterieuze vliegtuig op een hoogte van 300 tot 325 kilometer, in een zeer lage baan.
Dr Marco Langbroek@Marco_Langbroek
The secret X-37B space plane OTV-5 as I imaged it from Leiden 40 minutes ago. Showed a brief flare (middle image), while it was entering at the edge of the camera FOV. canon EOS 60D + EF 2.0/35 mm lens
Bij eerdere missies vloog de X-37B op ongeveer dezelfde hoogte, aldus Langbroek. Het ruimtevliegtuig werd op 7 september 2017 gelanceerd vanaf het Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Het toestel cirkelt dus al bijna een jaar om de aarde.
Hoewel het Amerikaanse leger niets kwijt wil over de huidige missie, blijkt uit gelekte informatie dat zich aan boord van het vaartuig een warmtemanagementsysteem bevindt. Dat zou momenteel in de ruimte worden getest.
Raadsels
De Amerikaanse luchtmacht heeft twee van deze ruimtevliegtuigen, die allebei zijn gebouwd door Boeing.
De X-37B is met raadsels omgeven. Volgens sommigen wordt het gebruikt om andere landen te bespioneren, terwijl anderen zeggen dat het satellieten kan uitschakelen.
Wanneer je naar een octopus kijkt dan zie je een wezen dat er vreemd uitziet en in niets lijkt op welk ander dier op deze planeet.
Een nieuw wetenschappelijk onderzoek stelt dat de octopus miljoenen jaren geleden als een bevroren ei naar de aarde is gekomen door middel van kometen. (Redactie: Dat lijkt de standaard verklaring voor fenomenen die niet te verklaren zijn voor wetenschappers.)
Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd door 33 wetenschappers die de resultaten hebben gepubliceerd in het zogenaamde peer-reviewed journal Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology.
Zij komen tot de conclusie dat leven hier op aarde is ontstaan door wat zij noemen “levendragende” kometen. Dit gebeurde op een moment dat de atmosfeer op aarde geschikt was om leven te kunnen herbergen en dat was zo’n 270 miljoen jaar geleden, volgens hen.
Een van de levensvormen die zo van buiten de aarde op onze planeet terecht is gekomen, zou de octopus zijn, een dier met 3 harten, 9 stel hersenen en blauw bloed.
Met dit in het achterhoofd is het volgende verhaal helemaal niet zo vreemd. Het vertelt dat het voorval plaatsvond op het strand in Portugal, maar als je zoekt op de naam Cyrene Beach dat wordt genoemd, kom je uit bij een Egyptische badplaats aan de Rode Zee.
Het artikel is van enkele dagen geleden, maar na het zoeken van de originele opname blijkt het voorval al vijf jaar geleden te hebben plaatsgevonden. Desalniettemin is het een prachtig voorbeeld van intelligentie bij dieren en in dit geval de octopus.
De man, Pei Yan Hang, loopt op het strand en ziet daar een kleine octopus, niet in staat om de zee weer te bereiken en die wachtte op een zekere dood.
De man liep gelukkig niet door, maar gebruikte een plastic kop om de kleine octopus voorzichtig op te pakken en weer los te laten bij het water.
Wat er dan gebeurt is te zien in de volgende video en het is niet voor niets deze video inmiddels bijna 12 miljoen keer is bekeken.
Astronomer films strange violet ring in the sky over Russia
Astronomer films strange violet ring in the sky over Russia
Astronomer Jan Kowsky managed to capture in just one night, from August 15 to 16, 2018, images and videos of almost all rare atmospheric phenomena, including sprites, elves, airglow, meteors, fireballs, northern lights over Irbit, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia.
Moon-mining enthusiasts were particularly gleeful this week when researchers claimed that they had found definitive evidence that water ice exists on the surface of the Moon. There’s even more water ice than we thought up there, too, and we know exactly where a lot of it is. That may make it even easier to mine this water in the future.
Long before this discovery, researchers have been eager to scoop up any water that may be lurking on the lunar surface. It’s a resource that could be incredibly valuable for future long-term missions on the Moon since water is essential for life to function here on Earth. It could be recycled inside a lunar habitat or used for drinking water or bathing. It could also be used to help plants grow on the Moon, which are needed to nourish future lunar inhabitants.
But perhaps the biggest and most immediate application for lunar water is making rocket propellant. The main components of water — hydrogen and oxygen — are two of the biggest materials that are used to power rockets right now. And making rocket propellant out of the water on the Moon could drastically cut down on the cost of doing ambitious missions in space. Right now, rockets leaving Earth must carry all the propellant they need with them. But by leveraging lunar ice, rockets could potentially refuel once they get to space, allowing them to reach distant locations for less money.
“The idea would be to get a sort of supply chain started outside of Earth for certain products — in particular, for water as a propellant — so that it could be much easier to navigate to space from one body to another,” Julie Brisset, a research associate at the Florida Space Institute, tells The Verge.
Getting anything into space is expensive. If you want your satellite to break free of Earth’s gravity, you need a lot of propellant to fuel the ride to orbit. In fact, most of the weight of a rocket at launch is just the propellant needed to get the thing into space. And the deeper into space you want to go, the more propellant you need. Greater energy is needed to get farther and farther away from the planet’s pull. So missions into deeper space become even more costly to pay for all the extra propellant needed to get there and the bigger rocket to house that propellant.
But what if instead of taking all the propellant you need with you from Earth, you refill your gas tank with propellant that’s already in space? Then, deep-space missions become more like cross-country road trips. “Just imagine if you had to drive out to Denver and there were no gas stations along the way and you had to bring all your gas with you from New York,” George Sowers, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines and former vice president at the United Launch Alliance, tells The Verge. “You probably couldn’t do it in your car. You would have to tow all the fuel you need.” That’s why the idea of lunar mining is so enticing. Water from the Moon could be mined, broken apart into rocket fuel, and transported to a propellant depot either near the Moon or in low Earth orbit. Then, rockets wouldn’t have to be so big to house all their propellant. They could simply dock with a depot and refuel for longer trips to space.
Transporting propellant from the Moon to other locations in space is nowhere near as pricey as transporting it from Earth. The Moon has one-sixth the gravity of Earth, meaning it takes less energy to break away from the surface. Sowers recently did an analysis on how much it would cost to transport lunar propellant to different locations from space. And getting lunar water to low Earth orbit, for instance, is still cheaper than sending it from Earth, even though our planet is closer. “If you’re going to use that propellant in low Earth orbit, it’s still maybe a 20 or 30 percent savings, using lunar propellant versus Earth propellant,” says Sowers.
Scientists have been fantasizing about turning lunar water into rocket fuel for decades now, as evidence has mounted that the lunar poles may be prime for mining. In 1994, a joint probe from NASA and the US military called Clementine found evidence that water exists in craters at the Moon’s poles. These places never see the Sun’s light and never reach temperatures above -250 degrees Fahrenheit. Multiple missions to the Moon since have indicated that water may be present in these locations as well. In 2009, NASA slammed a spacecraft called LCROSS into a crater at the Moon’s south pole, to see what kind of materials the impact kicked up. NASA found that there was about 5 percent water in what was ejected.
However, research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that some areas of the Moon may be overflowing in water. Researchers at the University of Hawaii and Brown University analyzed data gathered from India’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, which launched to the Moon in 2008. Using one of the vehicle’s instruments, they were able to pinpoint areas of ice on the Moon by measuring the reflectiveness of the water. They also observed these locations in infrared light, which allowed them to determine if the water was in ice form and not vapor or a liquid. Not only did they confirm that water ice is exposed on the lunar surface, but some areas of the ground are made up of 20 to 30 percent ice. Depending on how deep into the surface the ice goes, that could be ample fodder for rocket propellant.
“We really don’t need to be that concentrated everywhere,” says Phil Metzger, planetary physicist at the University of Central Florida and co-founder of NASA’s Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center. “We only need some locations to be higher concentration in order to have enough water to provide all of the space transportation needs for the next 30 years.”
A propellant depot in low Earth orbit opens up a lot of opportunities for new kinds of missions in space. One idea is something called a space tug — a rocket that stays in space, refueling over and over, in order to ferry satellites to their final destinations. Right now, satellites going into high orbits above Earth are deployed into an initial transfer orbit and then spend six months to a year slowly raising themselves higher with onboard thrusters. During that time, the satellite can’t do its job, so it doesn’t make any money. But with a space tug, satellites could be deployed into much lower orbits with smaller rockets, and then a reusable rocket already in space could “tug” the probe to its final orbit in just a few days. That saves satellite operators money: they don’t need as big of a rocket to get their payload into space, and they have more time to make money from their probes.
So yes, Moon-water-as-fuel is appealing, but it won’t be easy to start mining water in space. First, there needs to be an extensive prospecting campaign. Thanks to the PNAS study, researchers have basically created a map showing where to find the juiciest chunks of water ice at the lunar poles. The next step is to send landers and rovers to those areas to figure out the best location to target and what the consistency of the ice is. Scientists still don’t know if the ice is in the form of slush mixed in with the dirt or if it’s like solid bricks fused together with other surface material. “We know how to design the equipment to extract it. We just don’t know which set of equipment to use,” says Metzger.
One idea is scooping up the lunar soil with an excavation robot that hauls the materials to a processor. That processor then separates the ice from the soil through heating and breaks the water into its basic parts with electricity. Some of the resulting fuel is then used to launch the rest of the water off of the Moon on a transport vehicle, sending it to whatever propellant depot needs it in space.
Of course, all of this will be expensive. “It comes down to a cost analysis,” says Metzger. “Is it cheaper to launch rocket fuel from the Earth, or is it cheaper to launch the equipment into space one time and then maintain that equipment and use it to continually create rocket fuel in space?” Based on analysis done by Metzger, Brisset, and Sowers, they estimate that it’ll take a decade for investing in Moon mining to be profitable. But because lunar mining is so risky, it’s possible not a lot of venture capitalists will want to jump in right away.
That’s why the team suggests that NASA should get involved by partially funding early mining development efforts. That way, commercial investors will be more likely to pitch in if a credible government agency is involved and bearing some of the costs.
NASA wouldn’t just be doing investors a favor, either: the space agency has suggested that it might need up to 100 metric tons of propellant each year to power vehicles leaving the lunar surface from a base, according to Sowers’ analysis. If they had to ship all of that from Earth, it would cost around $3.5 billion per year. The savings from making Moon fuel could make missions to the Moon and Mars cheaper. “It would make Mars missions lower cost, and it makes pretty much everything we do beyond Earth affordable,” says Sowers. For example, using lunar propellant to refuel rockets would lower the cost of going to the Moon from Earth by a factor of three, according to Sowers. That’s an important detail, given NASA is looking to do human missions to the Moon once again.
“I’ve been saying for years now that water is the oil of space,” says Sowers, adding: “If NASA’s plans are to create a permanent human presence on the Moon, the first thing NASA needs to do is build a production facility for propellant.”
Beste bezoeker, Heb je zelf al ooit een vreemde waarneming gedaan, laat dit dan even weten via email aan Frederick Delaere opwww.ufomeldpunt.be. Deze onderzoekers behandelen jouw melding in volledige anonimiteit en met alle respect voor jouw privacy. Ze zijn kritisch, objectief maar open minded aangelegd en zullen jou steeds een verklaring geven voor jouw waarneming! DUS AARZEL NIET, ALS JE EEN ANTWOORD OP JOUW VRAGEN WENST, CONTACTEER FREDERICK. BIJ VOORBAAT DANK...
Druk op onderstaande knop om je bestand , jouw artikel naar mij te verzenden. INDIEN HET DE MOEITE WAARD IS, PLAATS IK HET OP DE BLOG ONDER DIVERSEN MET JOUW NAAM...
Druk op onderstaande knop om een berichtje achter te laten in mijn gastenboek
Alvast bedankt voor al jouw bezoekjes en jouw reacties. Nog een prettige dag verder!!!
Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
Op deze blog vind je onder artikels, werk van mezelf. Mijn dank gaat ook naar André, Ingrid, Oliver, Paul, Vincent, Georges Filer en MUFON voor de bijdragen voor de verschillende categorieën...
Veel leesplezier en geef je mening over deze blog.