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The US just returned to the Moon after more than 50 years. How big a deal is it, really?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-flannery-3906">David Flannery</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/queensland-university-of-technology-847">Queensland University of Technology</a></em></p> <p>In the few short years since the COVID pandemic changed our world, China, Japan and India have all successfully landed on the Moon.</p> <p>Many more robotic missions have flown past the Moon, entered lunar orbit, or crashed into it in the past five years. This includes <a href="https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/kplo">spacecraft developed by South Korea</a>, <a href="https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2023/04/27/Dubai-s-ruler-announces-new-moon-mission-after-UAE-s-Rashid-Rover-lunar-crash-">the United Arab Emirates</a>, and an <a href="https://www.spaceil.com/">Israeli not-for-profit organisation</a>.</p> <p>Late last week, the American company <a href="https://www.intuitivemachines.com/">Intuitive Machines</a>, in collaboration with NASA, celebrated “America’s return to the Moon” with a successful landing of its Odysseus spacecraft.</p> <p>Recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/change-5-china-launches-sample-return-mission-to-the-moon-is-it-winning-the-new-space-race-150665">Chinese-built sample return missions</a> are far more complex than this project. And didn’t NASA ferry a dozen humans to the Moon back when microwaves were cutting-edge technology? So what is different about this mission developed by a US company?</p> <h2>Back to the Moon</h2> <p>The recent Odysseus landing stands out for two reasons. For starters, this is the first time a US-built spacecraft has landed – not crashed – on the Moon for over 50 years.</p> <p>Secondly, and far more significantly, this is the first time a private company has pulled off a successful delivery of cargo to the Moon’s surface.</p> <p>NASA has lately focused on destinations beyond the Earth–Moon system, including Mars. But with its <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-lunar-payload-services/">Commercial Lunar Payload Services</a> (CLPS) program, it has also funded US private industry to develop Moon landing concepts, hoping to reduce the delivery costs of lunar payloads and allow NASA engineers to focus on other challenges.</p> <p>Working with NASA, Intuitive Machines selected a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapert_(crater)">landing site</a> about 300 kilometres from the lunar south pole. Among other challenges, landing here requires entering a polar orbit around the Moon, which consumes additional fuel.</p> <p>At this latitude, the land is heavily cratered and dotted with long shadows. This makes it challenging for autonomous landing systems to find a safe spot for a touchdown.</p> <p>NASA spent about US$118 million (A$180 million) to land six scientific <a href="https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/About_Payload_Systems">payloads</a> on Odysseus. This is relatively cheap. Using low-cost lunar landers, NASA will have an efficient way to test new space hardware that may then be flown on other Moon missions or farther afield.</p> <h2>Ten minutes of silence</h2> <p>One of the technology tests on the Odysseus lander, NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/impact-story-navigation-doppler-lidar/">Navigation Doppler Lidar experiment</a> or NDL, appears to have proved crucial to the lander’s success.</p> <p>As the lander neared the surface, the company realised its navigation systems had a problem. NASA’s NDL experiment is serendipitously designed to test precision landing techniques for future missions. It seems that at the last second, engineers bodged together a solution that involved feeding necessary data from NDL to the lander.</p> <p>Ten minutes of silence followed before a <a href="https://twitter.com/Int_Machines/status/1760838333851148442">weak signal was detected</a> from Odysseus. Applause thundered through the mission control room. NASA’s administrator released a video congratulating everyone for returning America to the Moon.</p> <p>It has since become clear the lander is not oriented perfectly upright. The solar panels are generating sufficient power and the team is slowly receiving the first images from the surface.</p> <p>However, it’s likely Odysseus <a href="https://www.universetoday.com/165864/odysseus-moon-lander-is-tipped-over-but-still-sending-data/">partially toppled over</a> upon landing. Fortunately, at the time of writing, it seems most of the science payload may yet be deployed as it’s on the side of the lander facing upwards. The unlucky payload element facing downwards <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/23/world/odysseus-lunar-landing-sideways-scn/index.html">is a privately contributed artwork</a> connected <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/22/style/jeff-koons-moon-phases-odysseus-landing/index.html">to NFTs</a>.</p> <p>The lander is now likely to survive for at least a week before the Sun sets on the landing site and a dark, frigid lunar night turns it into another museum piece of human technology frozen in the lunar <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/regolith">regolith</a>.</p> <h2>Win some, lose some</h2> <p>NASA’s commercial approach to stimulating low-cost payload services all but guarantees some failures. But eventually NASA hopes that several commercial launch and landing providers will emerge from the program, along with a few learning experiences.</p> <p>The know-how accumulated at organisations operating hardware in space is at least as important as the development of the hardware itself.</p> <p>The market for commercial lunar payloads remains unclear. Possibly, once the novelty wears off and brands are no longer able to generate buzz by, for example, <a href="https://www.columbia.com/omni-heat-infinity/moon-mission/">sending a piece of outdoor clothing to the Moon</a>, this source of funding may dwindle.</p> <p>However, just as today, civil space agencies and taxpayers will continue to fund space exploration to address shared science goals.</p> <p> </p> <p>Ideally, commercial providers will offer NASA an efficient method for testing key technologies needed for its schedule of upcoming scientific robotic missions, as well as <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">human spaceflight in the Artemis program</a>. Australia would also have the opportunity to test hardware at a reduced price.</p> <p>It’s worth noting that US budgetary issues, <a href="https://spacenews.com/nasa-warns-of-very-problematic-space-technology-budget-cuts/">funding cuts</a> and <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-workforce-update">subsequent lay-offs</a> do threaten these ambitions.</p> <p>Meanwhile, in Australia, we may have nothing to launch anyway. We continue to spend less <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Budget/reviews/2023-24/ScienceResearch">than the OECD average on scientific research</a>, and only a few Australian universities – who traditionally lead such efforts – <a href="https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/moon-to-mars-initiative-demonstrator-mission-grants/grant-recipients">have received funding</a> provided by the Australian Space Agency.</p> <p>If we do support planetary science and space exploration in the future, Australians will need to decide if we want to allocate our limited resources, competing with NASA and US private industry, to supply launch, landing and robotic services to the global space industry.</p> <p>Alternatively, we could leverage these lower-cost payload providers to develop our own scientific space program, and locally developed space technologies associated with benefits to the knowledge economy, education and national security.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224276/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-flannery-3906"><em>David Flannery</em></a><em>, Planetary Scientist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/queensland-university-of-technology-847">Queensland University of Technology</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Intuitive Machines</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-just-returned-to-the-moon-after-more-than-50-years-how-big-a-deal-is-it-really-224276">original article</a>.</em></p>

International Travel

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Almost half of Moon missions fail. Why is space still so hard?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gail-iles-761554">Gail Iles</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a></em></p> <p>In 2019, India attempted to land a spacecraft on the Moon – and ended up painting a kilometres-long streak of debris on its barren surface. Now the Indian Space Research Organisation has returned in triumph, with the Chandrayaan-3 lander <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-counts-down-crucial-moon-landing-2023-08-23/">successfully touching down</a> near the south pole of Earth’s rocky neighbour.</p> <p>India’s success came just days after a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02659-6">spectacular Russian failure</a>, when the Luna 25 mission tried to land nearby and “ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the lunar surface”.</p> <p>These twin missions remind us that, close to 60 years after the first successful “soft landing” on the Moon, spaceflight is still difficult and dangerous. Moon missions in particular are still a coin flip, and we have seen several high-profile failures in recent years.</p> <p>Why were these missions unsuccessful and why did they fail? Is there a secret to the success of countries and agencies who have achieved a space mission triumph?</p> <h2>An exclusive club</h2> <p>The Moon is the only celestial location humans have visited (so far). It makes sense to go there first: it’s the closest planetary body to us, at a distance of around 400,000 kilometres.</p> <p>Yet only four countries have achieved successful “soft landings” – landings which the spacecraft survives – on the lunar surface.</p> <p>The USSR was the first. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_9">Luna 9</a> mission safely touched down on the Moon almost 60 years ago, in February 1966. The United States followed suit a few months later, in June 1966, with the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/1966-the-real-first-moon-landing-118785850/">Surveyor 1</a> mission.</p> <p>China was the next country to join the club, with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e_3">Chang'e 3</a> mission in 2013. And now India too has arrived, with <a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2023/aug/23/india-chandrayaan-3-moon-landing-mission">Chandrayaan-3</a>.</p> <p>Missions from Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Russia, the European Space Agency, Luxembourg, South Korea and Italy have also had <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missions_to_the_Moon">some measure of lunar success</a> with fly-bys, orbiters and impacts (whether intentional or not).</p> <h2>Crashes are not uncommon</h2> <p>On August 19 2023, the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced that “communication with the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02659-6">Luna 25 spacecraft</a> was interrupted”, after an impulse command was sent to the spacecraft to lower its orbit around the Moon. Attempts to contact the spacecraft on August 20 were unsuccessful, leading Roscosmos to determine Luna 25 had crashed.</p> <p>Despite more than 60 years of spaceflight experience extending from the USSR to modern Russia, this mission failed. We don’t know exactly what happened – but the current situation in Russia, where resources are stretched thin and tensions are high due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, may well have been a factor.</p> <p>The Luna 25 failure recalled two high-profile lunar crashes in 2019.</p> <p>In April that year, the Israeli <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beresheet">Beresheet lander</a> crash-landed after a gyroscope failed during the braking procedure, and the ground control crew was unable to reset the component due to a loss of communications. It was later reported a capsule containing microscopic creatures called tardigrades, in a dormant “cryptobiotic” state, may have survived the crash.</p> <p>And in September, India sent its own Vikram lander down to the surface of the Moon – but it did not survive the landing. NASA later <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/dec/03/indias-crashed-vikram-moon-lander-spotted-on-lunar-surface">released an image</a> taken by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing the site of the Vikram lander’s impact. Debris was scattered over almost two dozen locations spanning several kilometres.</p> <h2>Space is still risky</h2> <p>Space missions are a risky business. Just over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/success-rate-of-lunar-missions-is-a-little-over-50-as-per-nasa-database/articleshow/101774227.cms">50% of lunar missions succeed</a>. Even <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190002705/downloads/20190002705.pdf">small satellite missions</a> to Earth’s orbit don’t have a perfect track record, with a success rate somewhere between 40% and 70%.</p> <p>We could compare uncrewed with crewed missions: around <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230518-what-are-the-odds-of-a-successful-space-launch">98% of the latter are successful</a>, because people are more invested in people. Ground staff working to support a crewed mission will be more focused, management will invest more resources, and delays will be accepted to prioritise the safety of the crew.</p> <p>We could talk about the details of why so many uncrewed missions fail. We could talk about technological difficulties, lack of experience, and even the political landscapes of individual countries.</p> <p>But perhaps it’s better to step back from the details of individual missions and look at averages, to see the overall picture more clearly.</p> <h2>The big picture</h2> <p>Rocket launches and space launches are not very common in the scheme of things. There are <a href="https://www.pd.com.au/blogs/how-many-cars-in-the-world/">around 1.5 billion cars</a> in the world, and perhaps <a href="https://www.travelweek.ca/news/exactly-many-planes-world-today/">40,000 aeroplanes</a>. By contrast, there have been fewer than <a href="https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/derived/launchlog.html">20,000 space launches</a> in all of history.</p> <p>Plenty of things still go wrong with cars, and problems occur even in the better-regulated world of planes, from loose rivets to computers overriding pilot inputs. And we have more than a century of experience with these vehicles, in every country on the planet.</p> <p>So perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect spaceflight – whether it’s the launch stage of rockets, or the even rarer stage of trying to land on an alien world – to have ironed out all its problems.</p> <p>We are still very much in the early, pioneering days of space exploration.</p> <h2>Monumental challenges remain</h2> <p>If humanity is ever to create a fully fledged space-faring civilisation, we must <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/02/space-is-cold-vast-and-deadly-humans-will-explore-it-anyway/">overcome monumental challenges</a>.</p> <p>To make long-duration, long-distance space travel possible, there are a huge number of problems to be solved. Some of them seem within the realm of the possible, such as better radiation shielding, self-sustaining ecosystems, autonomous robots, extracting air and water from raw resources, and zero-gravity manufacturing. Others are still speculative hopes, such as faster-than-light travel, instantaneous communication, and artificial gravity.</p> <p>Progress will be little by little, small step by slightly larger step. Engineers and space enthusiasts will keep putting their brainpower, time and energy into space missions, and they will gradually become more reliable.</p> <p>And maybe one day we’ll see a time when going for a ride in your spacecraft is as safe as getting in your car.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Correction: a typing error in the original version of this article put the Surveyor 1 mission in 1996, rather than its actual year of 1966.</em><!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211914/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gail-iles-761554">Gail Iles</a>, Senior Lecturer in Physics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-half-of-moon-missions-fail-why-is-space-still-so-hard-211914">original article</a>.</em></p>

International Travel

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Molly Meldrum “moons” crowd again

<p>New footage has emerged of music icon Ian “Molly” Meldrum appearing to expose himself before urinating on the floor at a Rod Steward concert.</p> <p><em>The Daily Mail Australia</em> published a video and images of Meldrum, 80, allegedly pulling out his genitalia and relieving himself while he was seated in the crowd at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.</p> <p>“There were people everywhere. It was disgusting,” a witness told the outlet.</p> <p>The indecent exposure comes after Meldrum sparked heavy backlash after <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/music/a-naughty-boy-who-needs-a-new-belt-molly-meldrum-s-excuse-for-mooning-elton-john-s-crowd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“mooning” the audience while on stage at an Elton John performance.</a></p> <p>Entertainment reporter Peter Ford addressed the situation on 2GB’s Ben Fordham Live.</p> <p>“He has an acquired brain injury, we have to accept that,” he told the host, referencing Meldrum’s fall from a ladder in 2011.</p> <p>“Molly’s always been given to sort of odd behaviour, but since that fall – which he almost died as a result of – his judgment has been impaired.”</p> <p>Ford said he wasn’t “making excuses for bad behaviour”, and that Meldrum’s minders needed to take action.</p> <p>“I do think they’ve got to look at what’s happening when he goes out on these excursions, because he’s not being supervised enough or he’s not taking that supervision or guidance. It’s not like he’s turning up at these events on his own.”</p> <p>He went on to say he’d been given some insight into the shocking behind-the-scenes situation after Meldrum’s infamous Elton John stunt.</p> <p>“I know after the last public incident with Elton, his closest minder called me and was furious with me for reporting the story,” Ford revealed.</p> <p>“And they reminded me very clearly, the guy’s got an acquired brain injury – we take him out, and we can’t control what happens after that.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty</em></p>

Mind

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The Dark Side of the Moon at 50: how Marx, trauma and compassion all influenced Pink Floyd’s masterpiece

<p><em>Dixi et salvavi animam meam.</em></p> <p>This Latin phrase – I have spoken and saved my soul – sits at the end of Karl Marx’s <a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/">Critique of the Gotha Programme</a>. </p> <p>Written in 1875, this text imagines a communist society that will come about “after the enslaving of the individual to the division of labour, and thereby also the antithesis between mental and physical labour has vanished”. </p> <p>Only then, Marx argues, “can the narrow horizon of bourgeois right be completely transcended and society inscribe on its banners: from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs!”</p> <p>Roger Waters – bassist, lyricist and conceptual mastermind behind Pink Floyd’s 1973 album <em>The Dark Side of the Moon</em>, released 50 years ago today – knows Marx’s Critique. Indeed, he quotes it when discussing the record with music journalist John Harris. </p> <p>“Making <em>The Dark Side of the Moon</em>, we were all trying to do as much as we possibly could,” Waters <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/301401">told</a> Harris.</p> <p>"It was a very communal thing. What’s that old Marxist maxim? ‘From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.’ That’s sort of the way the band worked at that point."</p> <p>Assertions about solidarity, cooperation and shared “unity of purpose” – as Waters says – situate <em>Dark Side</em> in the context of Pink Floyd’s <a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/pink-floyd-roger-waters-david-gilmour-feud/">notoriously fractious</a> recording career and helps us understand the album’s enduring appeal.</p> <h2>Shine on you crazy diamond</h2> <p>Pink Floyd formed in London in 1965. Led by the charismatic songwriter, guitarist and lead vocalist Syd Barrett, the group established itself as a leader in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_underground">London underground music scene</a>. They released their debut album <em>The Piper at the Gates of Dawn</em> in 1967.</p> <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_Machine">Soft Machine</a> member Kevin Ayers <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/pink-floyds-the-piper-at-the-gates-of-dawn-9781441185174/">described</a> <em>The Piper at the Gates of Dawn</em> as “something magical, but it was in Syd Barrett”. </p> <p>Not long after the record’s release, Barrett suffered a catastrophic, LSD-induced breakdown. In response, the band recruited David Gilmour on guitar and recorded a second album, <em>A Saucerful of Secrets</em>, as a five-piece in 1968. Around this time, the increasingly unstable Barrett was unceremoniously ousted by the rest of the band. </p> <p>After Barrett left, says Ayers, “Pink Floyd became something else totally”. </p> <p>There are different versions of Pink Floyd. The recordings released after Barrett left the band in 1968 bear little resemblance to the first. </p> <p><em>Dark Side</em> sounds nothing like the whimsical Piper. But it is obvious the record is in large part preoccupied with the loss of Barrett.</p> <p>This preoccupation comes to the fore in the album’s penultimate track.</p> <p><em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1OOQP1-wOE&amp;ab_channel=HDPinkFloyd">Brain Damage</a></em>, written and sung by Waters, references Barrett’s adolescence (“Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs”), alludes to his illness (“And if the dam breaks open many years too soon”), and acknowledges his leaving the group (“And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes; I’ll see you on the dark side of the Moon”). </p> <p>Drummer Nick Mason confirms the group didn’t want to lose Barrett.</p> <p>In his <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/265734.Inside_Out">autobiography</a>, he writes, "He was our songwriter, singer, guitarist, and – although you might not have known from our less than sympathetic treatment of him – he was our friend."</p> <h2>If the dam breaks open many years too soon</h2> <p>What we hear on <em>The Dark Side of the Moon</em> is a band dealing with trauma. </p> <p>In this sense, Dark Side represents the start of a reckoning with the past – a process that culminated with the band’s next record, 1975’s elegiac <em><a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/wish-you-were-here-pink-floyd-seminal-ode-to-the-tragic-life-of-syd-barrett/">Wish You Were Here</a></em>.</p> <p>Culmination is a useful term when it comes to <em>Dark Side</em> more generally. On this record, all the avant-garde techniques and tendencies the band had toyed with in the post-Barrett period – <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musique_concr%C3%A8te">musique concrète</a>, sonic manipulation, extended improvisation, analogue tape manipulation – come together to spectacular effect. </p> <p><em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0kcet4aPpQ">Money</a> –</em> with its anti-capitalist lyrics penned by Waters (“Money, it’s a crime; share it fairly, but don’t take a slice of my pie”), odd time signature, and handmade tape-loops mimicking the sounds of cash tills, bags of coins being dropped from great height and bank notes being torn up – is one of the stranger hit singles in pop music history. </p> <p>Be that as it may, Money and the album from which it is taken, of which <a href="https://www.pinkfloyd.com/tdsotm50/">more than 50 million copies</a> have been sold, continue to resonate with listeners worldwide, five decades on from its initial release.</p> <h2>The enormous risk of being truly banal</h2> <p>“I made a conscious effort when I was writing the lyrics for <em>Dark Side of the Moon</em> to take the enormous risk of being truly banal about a lot of it,” Waters told John Harris, “in order that the ideas should be expressed as simply and plainly as possible.”</p> <p>On this point, <a href="https://www.loudersound.com/news/david-gilmour-says-its-pretty-unlikely-he-and-roger-waters-will-resolve-pink-floyd-feud">if nothing else</a>, David Gilmour agrees. He told Harris, "There was definitely a feeling that the words were going to be very clear and specific. That was a leap forward. Things would mean what they meant. That was a distinct step away from what we had done before."</p> <p>Mortality, insanity, conflict, affluence, poverty and, in another nod to Marx, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_alienation">alienation</a> are some of the themes presented on the record. The need – and this brings us full circle – for compassion, if not outright solidarity, is another. </p> <p>This is an album about the importance of understanding, as Waters <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/301401">insists, "T</a>he potential that human beings have for recognising each other’s humanity and responding to it, with empathy rather than antipathy."</p> <p>Given the sorry state of the world in 2023, about which Roger Waters has many <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64580688">contentious</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/feb/07/pink-floyd-lyricist-calls-roger-waters-an-antisemite-and-putin-apologist">problematic</a> things to say, I wager Pink Floyd’s masterwork will continue to resonate with listeners for a while yet.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-dark-side-of-the-moon-at-50-how-marx-trauma-and-compassion-all-influenced-pink-floyds-masterpiece-198400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Music

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“A naughty boy who needs a new belt”: Molly Meldrum’s excuse for mooning Elton John’s crowd

<p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Music TV legend Molly Melrdum has apologised profusely for his onstage behaviour after gatecrashing Sir Elton John's Farewell show in Melbourne on Friday. But the excuse he has proffered did not find much by way of support among sceptics.</span></p> <p>Meldrum blamed what happened while standing braced alongside Sir Elton’s piano … on a wardrobe malfunction.  </p> <p>On Friday night, Meldrum left onlookers bewildered and taken aback when his trousers suddenly dropped without warning, meaning he effectively mooned the packed audience. The legendary music critic and presenter has now gone on record as saying that it was all due to a wardrobe malfunction involving his faulty belt. </p> <p>“I shouldn’t have crashed Elton’s show,” Meldrum told the Herald Sun. “As for my performance being more revealing than it should have been … well, at the start of the night, my belt buckle broke and my pants were already falling down. And on stage, one thing led to another.” </p> <p>Prior to the incident, Molly had been in the audience taking in the show – but since both he and Sir Elton have been lifelong friends, the star of the show gave a special tribute to Meldrum, saying, "He’s quite honestly a national treasure. I want to thank him for all the love and loyalty he’s shown me over the years. I love you."</p> <p>Meldrum took that as his cue to mount the stage, and the pair then performed “The Bitch Is Back” together, before the now-infamous wardrobe malfunction occurred – which Sir Elton appears not to even realise is happening. </p> <p>It’s then that Molly chooses to really go with the moment, lifting his jacket and showing his backside even further, before finally pulling up his trousers. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">If seeing Molly Meldrum’s bare bum was on your 2023 bingo card, here you go. (From tonight’s Elton John concert at AAMI Park Melbourne) <a href="https://t.co/7B7OYZWhgl">pic.twitter.com/7B7OYZWhgl</a></p> <p>— Tish (@oztish) <a href="https://twitter.com/oztish/status/1613862887029886978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>"I feel terrible if any of the security people get in trouble,” Molly then said the following day. “The whole thing was 100 per cent my idea – no one else knew what I was doing. Elton might have been singing The Bitch is Back, but it was more a case of The Idiot is Back.</p> <p>"I just hope my antics didn’t detract from a truly spectacular show and Elton’s fabulous farewell. No one is to blame apart from me.</p> <p>“Elton is an icon and a legend. I’m just a naughty boy, who needs a new belt.”</p> <p><em>Images: @oztish / Twitter</em></p>

Music

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Shehan Karunatilaka wins Booker prize for Sri Lankan political satire, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

<p>Sri Lankan novelist Shehan Karunatilaka has won the 2022 Booker Prize for his second novel, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.</p> <p>The win couldn’t come at a better time for Sri Lanka, a country once more engaged in <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/06/sri-lanka-economic-crisis-protests-imf/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">political and economic instability</a>, as it suffers through one of the world’s worst economic crises, with soaring inflation, food and fuel shortages, and low supplies of foreign reserves. And of course, the government was overthrown in July, after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled following mass protests.</p> <p>Karunatilaka said in his acceptance speech:</p> <blockquote> <p>My hope for Seven Moons is this; that in the not-too-distant future, 10 years, as long as it takes, Sri Lanka […] has understood that these ideas of corruption and race-baiting and cronyism have not worked and will never work.</p> </blockquote> <h2>Political black comedy</h2> <p>Karunatilaka’s novel is extraordinary – and hard to pin down. It is at once a black comedy about the afterlife, a murder mystery whodunit, and a political satire set against the violent backdrop of the late-1980s Sri Lankan civil war. It is also a story of love and redemption.</p> <p>Malinda “Maali” Kabalana, a closeted war photographer, wakes up dead in what seems to be a celestial waiting room. The setting will be familiar to many who’ve spent time in Colombo (as I have – it’s where my husband’s family is from). We open in a busy, bureaucratic office, filled with confusion, noise, a propensity against queuing – and a healthy dose of “gallows” humour. In other words, Maali is in some sort of purgatory.</p> <p>Maali soon discovers he has seven days – seven moons – to solve his own murder. This isn’t easy – he is interrupted by sardonic ghosts (often with grudges, questionable motives, and a tendency towards extreme chattiness), the violent reality of war-torn Colombo, and piecing together his memories of who he was.</p> <p>He also has seven moons to lead his official girlfriend and his secret boyfriend to a cache of photographs, taken over time, which document the horror of the war – and incriminate local and foreign governments.</p> <p>Karunatilaka’s subject matter and plot highlight, question and explore Sri Lanka’s legacy – and its continued, difficult relationship with its civil war, which spanned 1983 to 2009, though the reverberations continue. And his novel’s provocative, intimate, second-person style implicates us – the readers.</p> <p>Karunatilaka has mastered his craft as a novelist. He never once wavers from a second-person perspective that might be unwieldy (perhaps even gimmicky) in a lesser writer’s hands. The novel tells us, “Don’t try and look for the good guys, ‘cause there ain’t none”.</p> <p>It realises a combined responsibility for the tragedy of that 25-year civil war, in which the country’s colonial history is also implicated. British colonialists brought Tamil workers from South India to Sri Lanka, to work as indentured labourers on their coffee, tea and rubber plantations. Their descendants’ fight for an independent Tamil state was a strong component of the civil war.</p> <h2>Diffusing violence with humour</h2> <p>As a novelist and lover of second-person narration and a long-time follower of Karuntailaka’s accomplished work, I couldn’t be more delighted by this Booker win.</p> <p>I first came across Karunatilaka through his debut novel, <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/chinaman-9780099555681" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinaman</a>, which was handed to me by my sister-in-law several years ago on a family visit to Colombo. That book taught me about cricket, but it also taught me the sardonic brilliance of Sri Lankan humour.</p> <p>Karunatilaka once again uses humour to great effect in The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida – to diffuse confronting moments of violence, to engage his reader, and for pure enjoyment. This novel follows a murder victim through a bloody civil war – and it’s laugh-out-loud funny.</p> <p>It’s also a tighter, more focused book than Chinaman: here is an author in control of his craft and what he wants to say with it. The Booker judges, too, praised the “scope and the skill, the daring, the audacity and hilarity” of the book.</p> <p>Karunatilaka’s winning novel took time to write. Ten years have passed since Chinaman. His skilful use of craft to tell this complicated story is testament to the idea that good books take the time they need: something that all authors know but publishers are not always willing to accept. However, Karunatilaka has been busy in that ten years, not just writing literary fiction, but writing for children – and having a family. The 47-year-old is now married with two kids.</p> <p>Karunatilaka is only the second Sri Lankan novelist to have won the Booker Prize. (The first was Michael Ondaatje in 1992 for The English Patient.) But last year, his countryman Anuk Arudpragasam was also <a href="https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/anuk-arudpragasam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shortlisted</a>, for <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Anuk-Arudpragasam-Passage-North-9781783786961" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Passage North</a>, another accomplished novel set in the aftermath of the civil war.</p> <p>I’m excited by what this means for Sri Lankan authors and the Sri Lankan publishing scene. Here is a country with stories to tell and enormous skill to tell them with: let’s hope this leads to more Sri Lankan novels achieving wide readership, success and deserved acclaim.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/shehan-karunatilaka-wins-booker-prize-for-sri-lankan-political-satire-the-seven-moons-of-maali-almeida-192722" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: thebookerprizes.com</em></p>

Books

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See the strawberry moon that shone around the world

<p dir="ltr">Stargazers across the world had plenty to see this week, as the strawberry supermoon lit up the sky.</p> <p dir="ltr">The moon appeared slightly larger than usual with an orange tint, reaching its peak size on Wednesday night for Australia and New Zealand.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though called a strawberry moon, the name has nothing to do with colour, instead coming from the Native American Algonquin nations and meaning it is the last full moon in spring or first of summer in the northern hemisphere, per <em><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/strawberry-supermoon-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS News</a></em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">According to <em><a href="https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-june" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Old Farmer’s Almanac</a></em>, it was named the strawberry moon to mark the ripening of strawberries that would be ready to gather in June.</p> <p dir="ltr">Since it is a supermoon, defined as a full moon within 10 percent of the closest distance it can be to Earth, the moon appeared full in the days prior and will for a few more after, according to <em><a href="https://www.space.com/strawberry-supermoon-full-moon-2022-what-to-expect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Space.com</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Here, we've compiled a collection of the most stunning shots of the supermoon from all corners of the world for your viewing pleasure.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-078ba00d-7fff-a754-5303-e6fee130564f"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Gary Hershorn (Getty Images)</em></p>

International Travel

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“We’re over the moon”: Grace Tame shares sweet news

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After a tumultuous year, Grace Tame has announced she is engaged to her “angel man”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 2021 Australian of the Year </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/grace-tame-engagement-announcement-max-heerey/16575bbc-2179-437e-b4c1-a9c9a52bb571" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">shared the news</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on social media over the weekend, along with photos of the moment her now-fiance Max Heerey dropped to one knee and proposed during a bike ride at Bellerive Bluff, Hobart that morning.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I said, ‘OATH, YES!!!’,” Tame captioned the sweet images.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">I said, “OATH, YES!!!” <a href="https://t.co/3UcltHdSRP">pic.twitter.com/3UcltHdSRP</a></p> — Grace Tame (@TamePunk) <a href="https://twitter.com/TamePunk/status/1484793251739860993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a follow-up tweet, the 27-year-old said, “We’ll wear helmets at the wedding too don’t worry”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On Instagram, she captioned the same photos: “I said, ‘yeeeeES!!!’</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Huge thank-you to @jordangrech / @tenderscars for designing the most exquisite sapphire ring.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“And to my cousin Eloise (Weasy bun), for capturing the surprise from the bushes on our ride this morning haha. We’re over the moon.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The newly-engaged Tasmanian also shared an adorable selfie of her and Heerey, as well as a close-up of her new ring.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tame received the Australian of the Year award last year for her work as an advocate for sexual assault survivors and contribution to the #LetHerSpeak campaign. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Launched by journalist Nina Funnell, Marque Lawyers, the founder of End Rape on Campus Australia Sharna Bremmer, and 16 other sexual assault survivors, the campaign aimed to overturn the Tasmanian law that prevented survivors from being identified and speak about their experiences publicly.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By the end of 2021, Tame also topped the list of the most influential Australians on Twitter, despite only starting her account at the start of the year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“She’s an absolute powerhouse on Twitter and she only tweeted for the first time in April of this year, so just a huge amount of support and conversation around Grace,” Angus Keene, the acting managing director at Twitter Australia, told the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today Show</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in December.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tame also made</span> <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/6047435/grace-tame-next-generation-leaders/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">TIME</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">’s list of Next Generation Leaders last year, and started </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.thegracetamefoundation.org.au/the-foundation" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">her own foundation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to combat sexual abuse and support victims.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Appearing in <em>Vogue</em>’s list of </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.vogue.com.au/culture/features/21-women-of-2021/image-gallery/3c313bdab3f3f8aefee7ecac1b43303f" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">21 Australian Women Who Defined 2021</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Tame said she hoped to see “a culture of accountability”, and a widespread condemnation of domestic violence, child sexual abuse and sexual assault by the country’s political parties.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">With only a week to go ‘til I’m washed-up, I’d just like to thank you all for your support this past year. <br /><br />Although I didn’t choose the award, I’ll forever be grateful for the honour. <br /><br />Change was made before, is happening now, and will continue—growing in volume, every day ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/F1JCFdyrU6">pic.twitter.com/F1JCFdyrU6</a></p> — Grace Tame (@TamePunk) <a href="https://twitter.com/TamePunk/status/1483203677045538817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Several days before her engagement, Tame reflected on her year as the Australia of the Year and thanked her followers and others for their support.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Although I didn’t choose the award, I’ll be forever grateful for the honour,” she wrote on Twitter.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Change was made before, is happening now, and will continue - growing in volume, every day 💗.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: @tamepunk (Instagram)</span></em></p>

Relationships

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"Over the moon": UberEats makes first delivery into space

<p>UberEats has teamed up with a Japanese billionaire to send canned food onboard the International Space Station. </p> <p>The delivery was made by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaka <span>Maezawa</span> on December 11th, arriving at the ISS 8 hours and 34 minutes after Maeawa's departure from Earth. </p> <p><span>The dishes include boiled mackerel in miso, beef bowl cooked in sweet sauce, simmered chicken with bamboo shoots and braised pork.</span></p> <p><span>Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.uber.com/newsroom/uber-eats-in-space/" target="_blank">statement</a>, "</span>One small handoff for Yusaku Maezawa, one giant delivery for Uber Eats!"</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">"We're over the moon to have helped make our first successful delivery to space. Our goal is to help people go anywhere and get anything, so we're proud to serve the astronauts at the International Space Station."</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>"Yusaku Maezawa gets a thumbs up on this delivery, even though it took a bit longer than the usual 30 minutes to arrive."</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>Maezawa and his assistant will spend 12 days onboard the ISS before returning home. </span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>After receiving a flood of criticism for the deciding to pay a fortune for the trip to space, Maezawa defended his decision saying it was an "amazing experience". </span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>"Once you are in space, you realise how much it is worth it by having this amazing experience," he told the AP in the first TV interview since he arrived at the station. "And I believe that this amazing experience will lead to something else."</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>Maezawa and his assistant are the first self-paying tourists to </span>visit the space station since 2009.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">When asked about reports that claimed he had spent over $80 million for the 12-day mission, <span>Maezawa didn't disclose the contract sum but admitted he paid "pretty much" the rumoured amount. </span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>When responding to </span>criticism from those who claims his money would be better spent helping people on Earth rather than a space mission, <span>Maezawa simply claimed </span>that "those who criticise are perhaps those who have never been to space."</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><em>Image credits: UberEats</em></p>

International Travel

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Australia is putting a rover on the Moon in 2024 to search for water

<p>Last month the Australian Space Agency <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/oct/13/australia-to-build-20kg-rover-to-head-to-moon-in-joint-mission-with-nasa">announced</a> plans to send an Australian-made rover to the Moon by as early as 2026, under a deal with NASA. The rover will collect lunar soil containing oxygen, which could eventually be used to support human life in space.</p> <p>Although the <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/australias-first-mission-moon">deal with NASA</a> made headlines, a separate mission conducted by private companies in Australia and Canada, in conjunction with the University of Technology Sydney, may see Australian technology hunting water on the Moon as soon as mid-2024.</p> <p>If all goes according to plan, it will be the first rover with Australian-made components to make it to the Moon.</p> <h2>Roving in search of water</h2> <p>The ten-kilogram rover, measuring 60x60x50cm, will be launched on board the Hakuto lander made by <a href="https://ispace-inc.com/">ispace</a>, a lunar robotic exploration company based in Japan.</p> <p>The rover itself, also built by ispace, will have an integrated robotic arm created by the private companies <a href="https://stardust-technologies.com/">Stardust Technologies</a> (based in Canada) and Australia’s <a href="https://www.explorespace.com.au/">EXPLOR Space Technology</a> (of which I am one of the founders).</p> <p>Using cameras and sensors, the arm will collect high-resolution visual and haptic data to be sent back to the mission control centre at the University of Technology Sydney.</p> <p>It will also collect information on the physical and chemical composition of lunar dust, soil and rocks — specifically with a goal of finding water. We know water is present within the Moon’s soil, but we have yet to find a way to extract it for practical use.</p> <p>The big push now is to identify regions on the Moon where water sources are more abundant, and which can deliver more usable water for human consumption, sample processing, mining operations and food growth.</p> <p>This would also set the foundation for the establishment of a manned Moon base, which could serve as a transit station for further space exploration (including on Mars).</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429440/original/file-20211031-15910-fccea3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /> <span class="caption">The ispace moon lander was displayed in Washington DC.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy of Australian Embassy staff</span></span></p> <h2>Moon-grade materials</h2> <p>Once the Hakuto lander takes off, the first challenge will be to ensure it lands successfully with the rover intact. The rover will have to survive an extreme environment on the lunar surface.</p> <p>As the moon rotates relative to the Sun, it experiences day and night cycles, just like Earth. But one day on the Moon lasts 29.5 Earth days. And surface temperatures shift dramatically during this time, reaching up to 127℃ during the day and falling as low as -173℃ at night.</p> <p>The rover and robotic arm will also need to withstand the effects of space radiation, vibrations during launch, shock from the launch and landing, and exposure to dust and water.</p> <p>At the same time, the arm must be light enough to conduct advanced manoeuvres, such as grabbing and collecting moon rocks. Advanced space-grade aluminium developed in Australia will help protect it from damage.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429443/original/file-20211031-15-1csuz38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /> <span class="caption">The TechLab antenna chamber at the The University of Technology Sydney is being used to test communication signals which will be critical to this mission.</span></p> <p>The team behind the mission is currently in the process of testing different designs of the robotic arm, and figuring out the best way to integrate it with the rover. It will be tested together with the rover at a new lunar test bed, at the EXPLOR Space Technologies facility in New South Wales.</p> <p>Like the one used by NASA, this test bed can mimic the physical and chemical conditions on the Moon. It will be critical to determining whether the rover can stay mobile and continue to function under different environmental stressors.</p> <h2>Step into your astronaut boots</h2> <p>The rover will also send back data that allows people on Earth to experience the Moon with virtual reality (VR) goggles and a sensor glove. Haptic data collected back by the robotic arm will essentially let us “feel” anything the arm touches on the lunar surface.</p> <p>We plan to make the experience available as a free app — and hope it inspires future generations of space explorers.</p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joshua-chou-405757">Joshua Chou</a>, Senior lecturer, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-putting-a-rover-on-the-moon-in-2024-to-search-for-water-170097">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: iSpace</em></p>

International Travel

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Incredible images of the super moon

<p>Australian space enthusiasts were given the ultimate moon gazing experience on Wednesday night after a super blood moon appeared in the sky.</p> <p>Similar to the pink super moon in April, photos of the May super blood moon, which was red in colour, had been shared widely across social media.</p> <p>The super blood moon takes place when a total lunar eclipse (or blood moon) happens at the same time as the "super" moon - which appeared brighter and bigger.</p> <p>Incredible images have popped up from across Australia, taken by both professionals and social media users.</p> <p>The beach provided a beautiful backdrop for the super moon as many avid photographers took to the ocean side to take their snaps.</p> <p>Other images show the earth’s shadow fall across the full moon above Sydney.</p> <p>Social media users have taken to Instagram to share their own images from the super blood moon.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CPVZPcEpf9n/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CPVZPcEpf9n/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Mitch Cox (@mitch.cox)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CPVb5t2HYv7/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CPVb5t2HYv7/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Relaxing Off-Grid Farm Stay (@pattisonpastoralfarmstay)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CPVENQypDsk/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CPVENQypDsk/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Anthony Glick (@anthonyglick)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Twitter users were equally as enthusiastic, sharing their own pictures of the phenomenon.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Super blood moon and eclipse all in one night <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sydney?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sydney</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/supermoon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#supermoon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/australia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#australia</a> <a href="https://t.co/2CsoIwjHWf">pic.twitter.com/2CsoIwjHWf</a></p> — Ross Johnson (@rossxjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/rossxjohnson/status/1397523117619044354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Super blood moon and eclipse all in one night <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sydney?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sydney</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/supermoon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#supermoon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/australia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#australia</a> <a href="https://t.co/2CsoIwjHWf">pic.twitter.com/2CsoIwjHWf</a></p> — Ross Johnson (@rossxjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/rossxjohnson/status/1397523117619044354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>While the super blood moon will be visible from parts of America, Australian National University astrophysicist Brad Tucker said Aussies had one of the best and most convenient viewing times.</p> <p>“This is probably the rarest bit of this moon, that it happens in the early evening and not some absurd normal astronomy time in the middle of the night,” he said.</p>

Technology

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Spooky facts about the moon

<p><strong>There’s a graveyard on the moon</strong><br />Most of the 181,437 kilograms of garbage on the moon is space junk and ephemera crash-landed or left behind by the 12 astronauts who have visited since 1969: abandoned satellites, spent rockets, cameras, backpacks, and golf balls. But here’s one of the more morbid moon facts: Among the detritus on the moon are the ashes of Eugene Shoemaker, one of the founders of the field of planetary science, sent skyward by NASA in a polycarbonate capsule.</p> <p><strong>“Lunatics” can blame the moon</strong><br />One of the moon facts from the Middle Ages is that scientists and philosophers believed that a full moon caused seizures and influenced episodes of fever and rheumatism. Because of the connection between the moon and unusual behaviour, the afflicted were called lunatics, or, literally, “moon sick.”</p> <p><strong>The moon is disappearing</strong><br />Each year, the moon’s orbit moves about four centimetres away from the Earth, meaning that in a mere 500 million years, the moon will be 23,496 kilometres farther away than it is right now.</p> <p><strong>There are fresh footprints on the moon’s surface</strong><br />Man hasn’t set foot on the moon in more than four decades, and yet, fresh prints remain. Is this evidence of an alien life form? Is Bigfoot taking up extra-planetary residence? Nah, they’re just leftover astronaut footprints. Because there’s no wind or water on the moon, tracks can last millions of years.</p> <p><strong>A full moon might keep you awake</strong><br />In a small study from the University of Basel in Switzerland, subjects monitored closest to a full moon experienced less deep sleep, produced less melatonin, and took five minutes longer to fall asleep that those monitored during other times of the month. Sleep researcher Marie Dumont, who wasn’t involved in the study, suggests that the full moon could indirectly affect the internal body clock by increasing volunteers’ exposure to light in the evening.</p> <p><strong>The truth about the blood moon</strong><br />As many people witnessed in late September 2015, the moon really can turn an eerie shade of red under the right conditions. But despite werewolf warnings and apocalypse alerts, scientists define the so-called “blood” moon as a purely astronomical event when the earth casts a rust-coloured shadow on the moon’s surface.</p> <p><strong>Shadows are darker on the moon than on Earth</strong><br />Astronauts on the moon immediately noticed that their shadows were much darker there than on Earth. The atmosphere that scatters light to create shadows on Earth is absent on the moon. The sun and the Earth itself provide a little bit of light, enough for shadows to still appear, but the shadows are much harder to see.</p> <p><strong>The moon experiences earthquakes (or moonquakes)</strong><br />Just like the Earth, the moon has a crust that shifts and changes. Moonquakes can occur when the lunar crust warms and expands, or they can be triggered by meteorite impacts. While moonquakes don’t reach the same level of intensity as earthquakes, they can last much longer, because the moon has no water to combat seismic vibrations.</p> <p><strong>The moon has a time zone all its own</strong><br />It’s called “Lunar Standard Time,” but it doesn’t correspond simply with a time on Earth. Time is quite different on the moon than on Earth; a year on the moon is divided into twelve “days,” each about as long as an Earth month. Each “day” is named after a different astronaut who has walked on the moon. The “days” are divided into 30 “cycles,” which are then divided into hours, minutes, and seconds. Oh, and the calendar started the moment Neil Armstrong walked on the moon: Year 1, day 1, cycle 1 began at July 21st, 1969 at 02:56:15 Universal Time.</p> <p><strong>The moon experiences a huge range of temperatures</strong><br />You probably think of Earth as located in the habitable, moderate zone of our solar system. Planets closer to the sun are far hotter, while the planets farther away experience frigid temperatures. But the moon experiences some pretty intense temperatures, on both ends of the spectrum, considering how close it is to our life-friendly planet. During the day, temperatures can be as high as 93.33 degrees Celsius. By the moon’s poles, though, the temperature stays around minus 204 degrees Celsius. This disparity is thanks to the moon’s lack of an atmosphere.</p> <p class="p1"><em>Written by Beth Dreher. This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/culture/spooky-facts-about-the-moon"><span class="s1">Reader’s Digest</span></a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.com.au/subscribe"><span class="s1">here’s our best subscription offer</span></a>.</em></p>

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Water on the Moon: research unveils its type and abundance

<p>The Moon was for a long time considered to be bone dry, with analyses of returned lunar samples from the Apollo missions showing only trace amounts of water. These traces were in fact believed to be due to contamination on Earth. But over the past two decades, re-analyses of lunar samples, observations by spacecraft missions, and theoretical modelling <a href="https://theconversation.com/digging-deep-in-search-of-water-on-the-moon-26775">have proved</a> this initial assessment to be wrong.</p> <p>“Water” has since been detected <a href="https://www.space.com/40481-moon-meteorite-mineral-hidden-lunar-water.html#:%7E:text=A%20mineral%20that%20requires%20the,moon%2C%20study%20team%20members%20said.">inside the minerals</a> in lunar rocks. Water ice has also been discovered to be mixed in with <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/115/36/8907">lunar dust grains</a> in cold, permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles.</p> <p>But scientists haven’t been sure how much of this water is present as “molecular water” – made up of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen (H<sub>2</sub>O). Now two new studies published in Nature Astronomy <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-01222-x">provide an answer</a>, while also giving an idea of how and where <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1198-9">to extract it</a>.</p> <p><strong>Water and more water</strong></p> <p>The term water isn’t just used for molecular water, but also also for detections of hydrogen (H) and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/hydroxyl-group">hydroxyl</a> (OH). Although H and OH could be combined by astronauts to form molecular water at the lunar surface, it is important to know in what form these compounds are present initially. That’s because this will have an impact on their stability and location under lunar surface conditions, and the effort required to extract them. Molecular water, if present as water ice, would be easier to extract than hydroxyl locked in rocks.</p> <p>The presence of water on the Moon is scientifically interesting; its distribution and form can help address some profound questions. For example, how did water and other volatile substances arrive at the inner Solar System in the first place? Was it produced there or <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms11684#:%7E:text=We%20determine%20that%20a%20combination,the%20water%20in%20the%20Moon.">brought there by asteroids or meteorites</a>? Knowing more about the specific compound could help us find out.</p> <p>Understanding how much water is present, and its location, is also incredibly useful for planning human missions to the Moon and beyond. Water represents a key resource that can be used for life-support purposes – but it can also be split apart into its constituent elements and put to other uses. Oxygen could replenish air supplies, or be used in simple chemical reactions at the lunar surface to extract other useful resources from the regolith (soil composed of small grains). Water could also be used as rocket fuel in the form of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.</p> <p>This means that the Moon has great potential to become a refuelling base for space missions further into the Solar System or beyond. Its lower gravity and lack of atmosphere means it would require less fuel to launch from there than from Earth. So when space agencies talk of <em>in-situ</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-build-a-moon-base-120259">resource utilisation at the Moon</a>, water is front and centre of their plans, making the new papers extremely exciting.</p> <p><strong>New research</strong></p> <p>Instruments on board various spacecraft have previously measured “reflectance spectra” (light broken down by wavelength) from the Moon. These detect light coming from a surface to measure how much energy it reflects at a specific wavelength. This will differ based on what the surface consists of. Because it has water, the Moon’s surface <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6130389/">absorbs light at 3𝜇m wavelengths</a> (0.000003 metres). However, absorptions at this wavelength cannot distinguish between molecular water and hydroxyl compounds.</p> <p>Using the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/SOFIA/overview/index.html">NASA/DLR Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)</a> telescope, flown at 43,000 feet, the team behind one of the new papers observed sunlit sections of the Moon’s surface in wavelengths of 5-8𝜇m. H<sub>2</sub>O results in a characteristic peak in the spectrum at 6𝜇m, and by comparing a near-equatorial area as a baseline (thought to have almost no water) with an area near the south pole, this study reports the first unequivocal observations of molecular water under ambient conditions at the lunar surface at an abundance of 100-400 parts per million.</p> <p>This is several orders of magnitude too large for most of the water to be adsorbed onto regolith grain surfaces. Instead, the authors suggest that the water they have observed must be locked up inside glass formed by tiny meteorites impacting and melting already hydrated regolith grains. Alternatively, it could be present in voids between grain boundaries, which would make it easier to extract. Where exactly this water is sited would be of extreme interest for future explorers as it would dictate the processes and energy required to extract it.</p> <p>Luckily, the other paper used new theoretical models, based on temperature data and higher resolution images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, to refine predictions of where conditions are right for molecular water to be trapped as ice.</p> <p>Previous research has shown already that there are such kilometres-wide “cold traps” in permanently shadowed areas <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/281/5382/1496.full">near the poles</a>, where water ice may be present. Evidence from orbiting spacecraft, however, was inconclusive about this being molecular water or hydroxyl. The new study finds that there are also abundant small cold traps where conditions permit water ice to accumulate – on the scale of centimetres or decimetres. In fact, such traps should be hundreds to thousands of times more numerous than larger cold traps.</p> <p>The team calculates that 0.1% of the total lunar surface is cold enough to trap water as ice, and that the majority of these icy cold traps are at high latitudes (&gt; 80°). This is particularly near to the lunar south pole, narrowing down the choice of future landing sites with the highest chance of finding trapped water ice. However, it is important to realise that the two studies investigated areas at different latitudes (55°-75°S vs &gt;80°S) and therefore cannot be compared directly.</p> <p>Nevertheless, these latest discoveries further enhance our understanding of the history of water on our nearest neighbour. They will undoubtedly strengthen plans for a return to the Moon. Instruments such as the European Space Agency’s (<a href="https://exploration.esa.int/web/moon/-/59102-about-prospect">PROSPECT payload on Luna 27</a>) will be able to make measurements on the Moon to “ground-truth” these tantalising glimpses of the wealth of information yet to be discovered.</p> <p><em>Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-mortimer-125966">James Mortimer</a>, The Open University and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mahesh-anand-125967">Mahesh Anand</a>, The Open University. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/water-on-the-moon-research-unveils-its-type-and-abundance-boosting-exploration-plans-148669">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

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7 ways a full moon can mess with your emotions

<p><strong>Swayed by the moon</strong><br />For a long time, it has been thought that a full moon makes people crazy. And while it may not turn you into a werewolf or land you in the psych ward, there must be some truth behind the idea that we are emotionally connected to the moon, right? LA-based astrologer Dr Athena Perrakis explains, “The full moon affects our bodies and it affects the oceans. Since our bodies are made up, proportionally, of so much water, it’s easy to understand how the moon would pull us and sway us just like the ocean.” When the moon is full, Dr Perrakis claims that it is high tide for emotions, and you best be careful not to get swept away.</p> <p><strong>It magnifies emotions</strong><br />Everyone has both light and dark inside them. Positive or negative, the full moon takes your strongest qualities and enhances them. According to Dr Perrakis, the full moon has a way of bringing both sides out into the open. “In the literal sense, what the full moon does is expand and it magnifies everything.” The sign of Aries, for example, is ambitious, outgoing, and personable. The positive side of an Aries during a full moon is the greater desire to be social and to share their opinions with others; however, Aries is also very headstrong. “Aries is ruled by Mars, which is a planet of war; they don’t hesitate to engage in conflict, especially in conversation. So at the full moon, they can feel agitated.” If you find yourself in an argument with an Aries around the time of the full moon, brace yourself, because they are prone to anger and will not hold back.</p> <p><strong>It intensifies feelings</strong><br />At the same time that a full moon can magnify an astrological sign’s natural characteristics, it can also make people feel things more intensely. This can be good or bad, depending on your state of mind when the full moon rises. The passionate Scorpio, for example, is already an intense sign, so things can get even more heated for this sign under a full moon. “Scorpio is the darkest sign of the zodiac, meaning that it takes all of its water energy that it shares with Cancer and Pisces and takes it to a deeper, darker place,” Dr Perrakis remarks. Moreover, Scorpio is known as the most sexual sign of the zodiac, and that can manifest itself twofold during the full moon: the intimacy a Scorpio is able to conjure up during a full moon is unparalleled, but the downside to the full moon is that it can intensify drama, stubbornness, and controlling aspects. Pisces, while also very passionate, is almost the exact opposite of a Scorpio in this instance. Instead of projecting intense emotions, Pisces open themselves up to them. “Of all the signs of the zodiac, Pisces is the most empathic. That can be a great thing at the full moon. It can make you feel really close to people. But if you’re too empathic and you don’t shield your energy well, you could end up feeling really drained.” On the bright side, Pisces can find itself feeling more inspired than ever during a full moon.</p> <p><strong>It energises</strong><br />The full moon can also lend an increased sense of energy, which each sign of the zodiac handles differently. For instance, a Leo would react much differently to the energy of a full moon than would a Virgo. “Leo loves the full moon because Leo is all about passion and creativity and enthusiasm,” Dr Perrakis says. “Leo is constantly craving access to bigger energy, so at the full moon you’re going to see Leos being extremely outgoing, extremely enthusiastic, [and] possibly creating something new. Leos tend to be very entrepreneurial and so they take that full moon energy and put it towards new ventures.” The dark side of those qualities, however, is that a Leo can become overly enthusiastic to the point that they are overbearing and bossy. A Virgo, on the other hand, enjoys the increased energy brought on by the full moon because it allows them to increase their work productivity. “Virgos love to get organised and they love to prioritise and they find that extra energy helps them get more work done.”</p> <p><br /><strong>It illuminates</strong><br />Yes, the full moon obviously provides more literal light than other phases of the moon, but it also has an illuminating property in terms of awareness and realisation. Now, Virgos don’t like this very much because they don’t thrive in the spotlight like some of the other zodiac signs do. “Virgos don’t like to be the focus of attention or conversation,” Dr Perrakis. “I always call the full moon the astrological spotlight because it just highlights whatever it touches. It makes Virgo a little uncomfortable.” Capricorns are a different story. “The magnifying energy of the full moon can actually help [Capricorns] have a better sense of visibility about their priorities. It actually will illuminate the path to achievement and success for them.” The overwhelming brightness of the moon can put some on edge while others use it as a powerful guide.</p> <p><strong>It destabilises</strong><br />While Capricorns do enjoy the increased success they might have during the phase of the full moon, on the whole, they find this time rather troublesome. All of the magnified energy that the full moon provides shakes up the usual routine. As emotions sway and strengthen, it is a time of uncertainty, which is one thing Capricorns hate and why they don’t like full moons. “Capricorns like to maintain a state of equilibrium in their life. They are about creating solid foundations and about making progress,” Dr Perrakis says. “They don’t like energies that destabilize their environment; it makes them uncomfortable.” But while Capricorn can get frustrated by the uncertainty of the full moon, Sagittarius and Aquarius revel in it. Aquarians love the full moon because they love to take on new things. This sign actually loves change, so any destabilizing effect the moon might have won’t bother them. Sagittarius, too, tends to be more positive about it. “Sagittarius has the most fun at the full moon because Sagittarius is the sign of freedom,” she explains. “At the full moon, they feel like it’s an opportunity to break out of old patterns, to find new ways to create excitement or to break a cycle that they’ve been stuck in.”</p> <p><strong>It makes moody Cancer moodier</strong><br />Cancer has the distinction of being a sign that is ruled by the moon, so everything about the full moon hits harder for them. “Cancers are the sign that feel everything very intensely, especially as it relates to home,” Dr Perrakis says. “The light side of that at the full moon is they feel like they have more energy than ever to communicate their feelings, to love their family, to be intimate with their partner. The other side of that is that they can become overwhelmed by their own feelings.” Don’t be surprised, Cancer, if you find yourself crying a lot at the full moon because your emotions are welling up and you can’t control them, she says. Normally adventurous, sociable, and fun-loving Geminis can have a hard time, too. “Sometimes Geminis feel misunderstood. They can feel isolated and alone, which Geminis do not like,” Dr Perrakis says.</p> <p><strong>Money woes for Taurus</strong><br />“Taurus has a focus on finances,” Dr Perrakis states. “And so at the full moon you might see a heightened anxiety about money.” While the full moon could provide great potential for success with financial endeavours, it can also cause a Taurus much more concern than usual. Libra, on the other hand, is not so consumed by material things, rather, it is a sign that preoccupies itself with creating harmony between others. This in itself might be anxiety-inducing during the full moon. “Full moons tend to bring out intense energy between people and so it’s harder for [Libras] to establish harmony. If you have an Aries who’s arguing with a Taurus about money, the Libra is going to want to make them both happy, and at the full moon that’s going to be harder to do than at any other time.”</p> <p><strong>How to handle a full moon</strong><br />While there’s nothing you can do to stop a full moon, obviously, what you can control is you. If you find yourself becoming increasingly agitated or negative around a full moon, take a step back. “For everyone, the key is awareness,” Dr Perrakis concludes. “Think about the strongest qualities of your sign. What would those qualities look like if they were given a turbo charge of energy? You have to be aware of that in yourself so you can understand how people react to you.” If you know that the moon gives you an excess of emotion or energy, think about how to direct it in a way that is positive. Instead of being at the mercy of the moon, use it to your advantage.</p> <p><em>Written by Taylor Markarian</em><em>. This article first appeared on </em><a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/culture/7-ways-a-full-moon-can-mess-with-your-emotions"><em>Reader’s Digest</em></a><em>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, </em><a href="http://readersdigest.com.au/subscribe"><em>here’s our best subscription offer</em></a><em>.</em></p>

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“Over the moon!”: Sylvia Jeffreys debuts baby bump alongside Peter Stefanovic

<p>Almost three weeks after announcing her pregnancy with Peter Stefanovic, Sylvia Jeffreys has stepped out with her baby bump.</p> <p>The couple attended the Youngcare Long Lunch charity event on Thursday and were beaming with joy.</p> <p>“I love him like my feet would love a pair of ugg boots right now,” wrote the mum-to-be on Instagram.</p> <p>Stefanovic also took to social media to praise his wife.</p> <p>“Always so inspiring to watch my beautiful wife and now mum-to-be @sylviajeffreys help raise big dollars for the @youngcareoz long lunch,” he wrote. “She spends months of her spare time planning the day and making it right every year. This charity does brilliant work.”</p> <p>The couple announced they were expecting their first child on August 19.</p> <p>“We’re having a baby boy and we’re totally over the moon!!,” wrote Jeffreys alongside a photo of her and her husband.</p> <p>Stefanovic held up a card which read “IT’S A BOY” and wrote, “Soon to be family of three and we are rapt! Good thing I’m already match fit with the whole no sleep thing.”</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Vv1pMHfiz/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Vv1pMHfiz/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Soon to be a family of three and we are rapt! Good thing I’m already match fit with the whole no sleep thing 😁</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/peter_stefanovic/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Peter Stefanovic</a> (@peter_stefanovic) on Aug 19, 2019 at 2:02am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Scroll through the gallery above to see Sylvia and Peter on their parenting journey.</p>

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“Over the moon!” Sylvia Jeffrey’s and Pete Stefanovic’s BIG news!

<p>Congratulations are in order for Sylvia Jeffreys and Peter Stefanovic, who recently announced that they’re expecting their first baby.</p> <p>Jeffreys confirmed the news on Tuesday night's <em>9NewsWatch</em><span> </span>by explaining how a glass of red wine is as good as an hour of exercise. This is due to resveratrol, which is a compound found in red wine and apparently gives the same benefits as exercise.</p> <p>"You'll all have to have one for me because I won't be drinking for a while with a baby on the way," she said, beaming.</p> <p>"My husband Pete and I were so delighted to share the news with you last night and we want to say thank you so much for all the beautiful messages that we've received in the last 24 hours saying congratulations. We cannot wait to meet our little baby boy next year. We are definitely feeling all the love. And thank you very much for all your well wishes!"</p> <p>The happy couple also shared their news on Instagram. Mum-to-be Jeffreys posted a photo standing alongside her husband Stefanovic.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1VveCMHchS/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1VveCMHchS/" target="_blank">We’re having a baby boy and we’re totally over the moon!! 💫</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/sylviajeffreys/" target="_blank"> Sylvia Jeffreys</a> (@sylviajeffreys) on Aug 19, 2019 at 1:58am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“We’re having a baby boy and we’re totally over the moon!!,” wrote the 33-year-old.</p> <p>Similarly, Stefanovic took to his own Instagram to share the same message, saying: “Soon to be a family of three and we are rapt! Good thing I’m already match fit with the whole no sleep thing.”</p> <p>In Stefanovic’s snap, he and Jeffrey’s are holding a card which reads, “IT’S A BOY.”</p> <p>It didn’t take long for friends and colleagues to send their well wishes, with Bec Judd commenting on Jeffrey’s post with “Woohoo!!!!!! Best news. Congratulations guys.”</p> <p>“Amazing news! Congratulations you two,” commented Phoebe Burgess. “Big kiss xxx.”</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Vv1pMHfiz/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Vv1pMHfiz/" target="_blank">Soon to be a family of three and we are rapt! Good thing I’m already match fit with the whole no sleep thing 😁</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/peter_stefanovic/" target="_blank"> Peter Stefanovic</a> (@peter_stefanovic) on Aug 19, 2019 at 2:02am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Also leaving a comment was sister-in-law Jasmine Yarbrough, saying: “YAAAYY SISSYS.”</p> <p>Nine Network and 2UE presenter Ben Fordham commented on Stefanovic’s post writing, “Holy. What. Wow. Congrats you two. You will make fine parents. Little fella will have the best of both worlds. Best news I’ve heard in ages.”</p> <p>Deborah Knight said, “Way to go Pete!! So happy for you and Sylv – best news.”</p> <p>The joyous news comes two years after Jeffreys and Stefanovic wed in a beautiful ceremony in Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales in April 2017.</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery to see photos of the happy couple.</p>

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Village to be built on moon by 2030

<p>The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced plans to have a village built on the moon by the year 2030, which could potentially help mankind explore the far reaches of the galaxy.</p> <p>ESA chiefs have touted the possibility of landing robots on the surface of the moon to prepare it for human life, with the construction completed by a 3D printing system.</p> <p><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/13266/moon-village_497x280.jpg" alt="Moon Village" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>The plan may seem a little far-fetched, but ESA chiefs are very serious, and confirmed their plans at a conference entitled Moon 2020-2030 — A New Era of Coordinated Human and Robotic Exploration.</p> <p>A moon base could open up a range of possibilities in regards to exploring Mars and could potentially act as a stepping stone for astronauts headed to the red planet.</p> <p><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/13267/moon-village-two_497x280.jpg" alt="Moon Village Two" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>NASA’s Kathy Laurini told <em>Space.com</em>, “The ESA space-exploration strategy sets the Moon as a priority destination for humans on the way to Mars.”</p> <p>“And the recent talk of a ‘Moon Village’ certainly has generated a lot of positive energy in Europe — [of] Europe playing a role in a global human exploration scenario. The timing is right to get started on the capabilities which allow Europe to meet its exploration objectives and ensure it remains a strong partner as humans begin to explore the solar system.”</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/01/stunning-mid-air-firework-video/"><strong>Drone captures footage of fireworks display mid-air in this spectacular video</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/01/tips-to-make-dairy-products-last-longer/"><strong>7 tips to make dairy products last longer</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/01/spot-the-panda-hidden-in-this-vintage-school-photo/"><strong>Spot the panda hidden in this vintage school photo</strong></a></em></span></p>

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