Lunokhod 1 Oddities

Lunokhod 1 was a lunar vehicle formed of a tub-like compartment with a large convex lid on eight independently powered wheels. Its length was 2. 3 metres (7 ft 7 in). Lunokhod was equipped with a cone-shaped antenna, a highly directional helical antenna, four television cameras, and special extendable devices to test the lunar soil for soil density and mechanical properties. An X-ray spectrometer, an X-ray telescope, cosmic ray detectors, and a laser device were also included. The vehicle was powered by batteries which were recharged during the lunar day by a solar cell array mounted on the underside of the lid. To be able to work in a vacuum, special fluoride-based lubricant was used for the mechanical parts, and the electric motors (one in each wheel hub) were enclosed in pressurized containers. During the lunar nights, the lid was closed, and a polonium-210 radioisotope heater unit kept the internal components at operating temperature. Lunokhod 1 was intended to operate through three lunar days (approximately three Earth months), but actually operated for eleven lunar days.


Dr. Porco believes that the icy moon, with its underground liquid sea of water, organics, as well as an energy source, may potentially host life similar to that found in analogous environments on Earth. The March 2012 images of Cassini's "tiger stripes" revealed that these cracks widen and narrow, as was suspected from pictures taken previously. The fissures also change over time more frequently than was originally thought. The two opposite sides of the fissures move laterally relative to one another. This is analogous to the way two banks of the San Andreas Fault can move forward and back, as well as in opposite directions. The greatest slipping and sliding happens when Enceladus is closest to Saturn--as scientists expected. You can use this universal stage to your advantage to plot a new course for your life and getting a head start with it in the coming month. Sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and your journal and contemplate. So here you have two definitions of a blue moon but the one for a calendar blue moon does not describe the true meaning of a blue moon. Here's why: