[ad_1]
The US space agency is set to announce an “exciting new discovery” on the Moon made from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) at 4 pm today. The modified Boeing 747SP carries a 2.7-meter reflective telescope at altitudes between 38,000 and 45,000 feet, allowing astronomers to study the Solar System and beyond in ways not possible with ground-based telescopes. In a statement, the space agency said: “This new discovery contributes to NASA’s efforts to learn about the Moon in support of deep space exploration.
“Under NASA’s Artemis program, the agency will send the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 to prepare for our next giant leap: a human exploration of Mars as early as the 2030s.”
Before the announcement, images of a strange discovery made inside a crater on the lunar surface were unearthed during the Science Channel’s ‘NASA Unexplained Archives’.
Narrator Erik Dellums explained: “NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter takes an image that offers to shed new light on the mysteries of the Moon.
“When the spacecraft scans an ancient volcanic plane known as the Sea of Islands, it detects an unusual 130-foot-wide crater below it.”
Apollo lunar scientist Peter Peter Schultz detailed why scientists were puzzled when they first investigated the snap.
He said: “I have studied many craters on the Moon, this is different.
“This is not like your usual [crater]. It looks like there is an object inside. “
And planetary scientists Matt Genge added: “It looks like something has crashed into the Moon. It’s really weird. “
Meteorite expert Julia Ann Cartwright said the possibility that it was caused by a space rock could be ruled out as it lacked “the typical round edge shape that we normally find when we try to examine impact craters on the Moon.”
READ MORE: NASA coup: Biden to ‘ruin’ the space program as China prepares to ‘occupy’ the Moon and Mars
“The plan was to measure the shock waves from the impact to learn more about the internal structure of the Moon.”
Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden revealed why NASA wanted to conduct such an experiment.
He said: “We had seismographs on the lunar surface that would have detected the impact of the S-IVB.
“It was very valuable to those who were trying to develop from the seismograph signals an image of the internal mass of the Moon and what it looked like.”
Dellums detailed how the space agency concluded that the object was likely from this mission, but continued to study high-resolution images to confirm its suspicions.
He added in 2017: “The 15-ton, 58-foot-long propellant was launched towards the Moon’s surface at more than 500 mph.
But just before impact, NASA lost contact.
“The length of the object in the image matches the Apollo thruster and scientists believe the huge cylinder is one of the few objects strong enough to withstand such a violent impact.
“It seems that after half a century of searching, the mystery of the Apollo booster’s disappearance may finally have been solved.”
[ad_2]
