The name of the new vehicle that NASA hopes will take astronauts back to the moon was supposed to be hush-hush until next week. However, U.S. astronaut Jeff Williams, floating 220 miles above Earth at the international space station let it slip Tuesday that the new vehicle’s name is Orion.
The space shuttle Atlantis will have a mix of hands-on experience and first-time enthusiasm at its helm when the spacecraft launches toward the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday. In the commander’s seat will be NASA astronaut Brent Jett, a three-time shuttle flyer who has already led one mission to deliver power to the ISS. His pilot is Chris Ferguson, an accomplished U.S. Navy aviator, who will reach space for the first time during Atlantis’ STS-115 mission to jump start ISS construction.
If astronomers approve a newly proposed planet definition, asteroid Ceres will become a planet. Pluto’s moon Charon will become a planet, while Pluto’s status is still in question. Our own Moon may one day end up being reclassified as a planet.
Russian cosmonaut and flight engineer Mikhail Tyruin will show off his golf swing on his November 23rd spacewalk and will whack a golf ball from the international space station in a publicity stunt on Thanksgiving Day, NASA officials said Tuesday. Move over Tiger Woods.
Our own Moon may one day end up being reclassified as a planet.
Not so long as the centre of its orbit is within the Earth it won’t.
(Pluto’s moon will become a planet because it doesn’t orbit around Pluto – they simply circle each other as they orbit the sun. The centre of its orbit is between it and Pluto, not Pluto itself.)
I had forgotten about Pluto orbiting the space between it and charon… Winder why thaat happens