tv Tomorrow Today Deutsche Welle July 19, 2019 1:30pm-2:01pm CEST
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the past 50 years we haven't gotten beyond earth orbit and the space station as well what happened then was a unique scientific and technological achievement from software here nice to meet a person or 2. this week 50 years after simmons 1st landed on the moon where asking what insights have the apollo missions brought. is he headed for the moon soon astronaut trains on an island rather like the lunar surface. and we visit a berlin startup that's building moon rovers welcome to our special lunar edition of tomorrow today. the earth and moon attract one another the moons gravitational force drives the tides in the earth's oceans and then in the 1960 s. humans began a program. that would eventually take us there. to meet the nasa apollo 11 mission
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was the 1st of 6 successful moon landings only apollo 13 had to abort. the program was certainly a political success for america but it wasn't a success for science. astronauts on the apollo missions didn't just plant their flags on the mean. the 1st lunar explorers in july 969 measuring instruments along on the historic journey . during that brief period on the main surface they set up 3 experiments. they installed instruments like this reflector the 1st of 3000000 mirrors. scientists back on earth later fired lasers at the reflectors an experiment that
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produced groundbreaking data. did you know stream that things are still up there today which means you can measure earth moon motion very accurately we know from these measurements that the moon is moving away from earth. with the 2nd main landing the pace of research picked up. from that point on the astronauts set up a whole package of geophysical measuring equipment that's there for a lunar landing site. some were able to transmit data to earth for up to 4 years of course everything didn't always go to plan. bulky space suits could make research awkward at times nevertheless the yield in scientific terms was impressive.
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in real time researches could recall seismic waves created by astronauts as they detonated small controlled explosions that sent by bray sions through lunar soil and rock. they wanted to examine the structure of the moon other instruments revealed naturally occurring quakes that were different from those on earth moon quakes at the time this was a big surprise in april 972 the astronauts on the apollo 16 mission became astronomers using a special camera they took photographs of the earth and very hot stars for the 1st time in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum nearly all the apollo missions investigated solar wind electrically charged particles from the sun the sweet pasta . in this experiment was also tremendous they didn't just find hydrogen protons and helium they also found many other atoms noble gases that were carried by the solar wind all of this meant we gathered more information about the sun and could better
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understand the origins of the solar system and. from 1970 onward astronauts brought main buggies along on missions these allow them to travel much farther away from their landing sites they could drive to places of scientific interests and got the rock samples you know researches back on earth how to remove their own in the control center from that they could watch the astronauts work life and check incoming data a technological wonder at the time. this rock is known as big nearly the other samples here may not have nicknames but they're just as valuable because they come from the moon. they were collected during the apollo missions and they're still providing scientists with important insights.
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apollo astronauts took samples of moon rocks at 6 different landing sites in some cases they board several meters into the lunar soil to collect them in total they brought back 400 kilograms of rock everything from fine dust to football sized chunks. of specimens are an absolute treasure troves those planetary geologist. because they've provided researchers with many new insights. to screw with no 2 from them on this is rock from another celestial body and most of it is very very old because we know that makes it invaluable and that tells us how the moon has developed over the past 4000000000 years not even nod and it can also tell us something about the earth and its evolution we could touch. it provides information that's no longer available in terrestrial formations because
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the earth recycles its rock our planet's tectonic movement continuously pushes rock deep beneath the surface. there it melts into magma only to be cast out again by volcanic activity the process has wiped out practically all traces of the earth's early geological history. the geologically stable moon by contrast is a kind of archive its history has remained intact. before people could land on the lunar surface it had to be explored by unmanned spacecraft . the images they captured helped prove the origin of the moon's craters for a long time they were thought to have been formed by volcanic eruptions. but now it was clear that they were shaped by meeting yours or asteroid slamming into
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our close the celestial neighbor. they created the pockmarked lunar surface craters like this 190 kilometers in diameter. and surrounded by a ring of mighty peaks as high as the alps piled and pushed up when the crater was formed. all that formed within minutes not like on earth where we know that mountains are formed over hundreds of millions of years when tectonic plates collide with you on the moon mountain formation happens within minutes 20 minutes and it's all over leaving a feature like a giant mountain range and that has changed our notions about geological evolution on earth as well who into. the age of the moon rocks was determined with precision in the lab. and that proved to be the starting point for new investigations of planetary development.
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researchers then re-examined the area around each of the landing sites and their craters. complete for food. they found that the size and number of craters in the region is directly related to the age of the surface there. this dark lone land plane on the far side of the moon has very. few craters it's younger than the neighboring mountainous landscape. for him and he argued with us applies not just to the moon but to the entire solar system then it's valid for all the other planets to do so the moon gave us the time scale for the evolution of the solar system we didn't have that before apollo. that
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evolution is more turbulent than previously thought the inner planets have been constantly struck by asteroids and comets the bombardment was especially fierce around 4000000000 years ago. using the crater method researchers have been able to date landscapes on a number of planets and their moons. and decipher their unique development. moon rocks turned out to be quite similar to those on earth and that tells us something about the origin of our satellite. until the apollo missions there were 3 main theories about the moon some scientists believe the earth captured a passing body. others thought the moon spun off at an early stage as a giant drop from a rapidly rotating still molten earth. or to the moon and earth form at the
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same time. the rocks from the moon landing provided evidence for a new theory. that a mars sized body sideswipe the earth and the moon formed out of the debris from that collision. but there are still many open questions and perhaps ways to answer them. for that and we'd love to have more samples from the moon and this. i'm not just from the surface but from the interior to. you know. a good place to collect a sample could be the moon's south pole there a giant asteroid hit the surface and may have exposed deeper layers of material. the next trips to the moon could be aimed at going there to take mineral samples. in any case people are already training hard for the next lunar mission under the
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most moon like conditions they can find for example in the us is neutral buoyancy laboratory. and one training course run by the european space agency takes place on the island of lands a rotate after north african atlantic coast. the lives of these 2 men in white revolve around the moon marty is moma is an astronaut and they have a stephen and is training them michael. or does this. even run on the. ground. on lands or road in the canary islands they're practicing for the next moon landing and also testing specialized tools for that trip through the typical apollo tool that we call scoop you see. tool to just call it something on the ground which could be like sand or small pieces of rocks or just imagine that you have now too drunk to mork through your bags what would
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happen this would fall down ok so now we're up with. which as a same function. when we want to call it samples we'll turn this. on the top and this is opening. you get your sample and you close now the advantage is that you can go before the result of moving your sample this is close you can even . very fine what is inside and you can slowly put it in your your container and i drop it inside. and guys that this was the next step for you is the transfer of the tools to the something. because you were sitting. lanza rotors volcanic surface is an ideal place for astronauts to practice how to gather rock samples on the moon. or.
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on. the side. and. what you can do there was. one of. the landscape here is quite lunar in many respects the igneous rock here is similar to that on the moon its surface was formed by volcanic activity just like this island off of north africa is west coast. overpriced. lovely donna besser name is heading up the training. street geology is important because it's the history of our planet and our solar system. for us planetary surfaces are still. the origin of the solar system. and that's one reason why researchers are eager to
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examine more real lunar rocks just as in an actual moon mission the scientists are on hand to give guidance they sit near ground control in this simulated mission. to save you from. the sun. are you ready for the description. and the science room is ready for the description. and out there in the harsh arid environment the astronauts. in a manner of speaking their hands and feet up. the earthbound crew collecting samples for the good of science. mathias malvo could be one of the next astronauts to actually bring back rocks from the moon. even stuff that even the scientists would rather spend an hour examining each stone collecting all kinds
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of possible data from them but on the moon i'll probably only have enough oxygen for 8 hours so that means that i have to work very quickly and efficiently there's no room for mistakes. in the field and that's the combination of constraints that you learn to deal with year to explore your available resources be aware of your own safety needs and complete the scientific tasks with 100 percent reliability. but to the untrained eye rocks all look pretty much the same whether it's here or on the moon like. the thank. you so do we ensure that they don't just pick up any old stone astronauts are also trained in geology. since apollo not being other planets so we focus on trying to create a geological training we want them to be good to feel geologists good. all
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of the scientists on earth. that's the beauty of and. that's. what we have here is all of being a mineral that comes from deep underground from close to the earth's mantle it's going to finish geologists are really keen on making a discovery like this on the moon because on the basis of these samples they can tell you an awful lot about the composition of the moon and if we astronauts we are practicing that here on lens eroding and the hope of course is that someday i might find a great stone or sample like this on the moon. i'm actually. more than 5000 minerals unknown here on earth on the moon astronauts encountered fewer than 100 so far that's why geologists can't wait to get their hands on new samples from our natural satellite. then here. when i'm walking on the surface of lands or
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road a i feel a bit as if i'm on the moon. and i'm really edging to get there. but ultimately it's not really important whether it's me or one of my colleagues or the generation after us so long as people do fly to the moon again and continue the work started back down we're going to warden right up. there are still many scientific questions left to answer on the moon answers that could even help us discover other habitable planets but for today the 2 men have definitely done enough walking. we now know that women were involved in the development of the apollo program as mathematicians for example but how often have women headed to space themselves. this week our viewer question comes from nina caleb thing who lives in the capital of georgia. how many women have been in
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space so far and what were their missions. the 1st female in space was valentino terrace called the pioneering soviet cosmonaut went into orbit in 1963 she's the only woman to have flown into space solo it wasn't until nearly 20 years later that sped learner 7 scalia became the 1st woman to set foot on a space station and in 1984 the 1st to carry out a space walk but gender equality in space was still light years away. american astronaut sally ride was preparing to take off on this space shuttle challenger to deploy to satellites when nasa asked her if 110 pounds would be enough to see her through the week long trip a number that would last. most woman for months. but slowly female astronauts
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gained acceptance in 1905 eileen collins was the 1st woman to pilot a space shuttle she flew the discovery to the russian space station mir. and in 2007 peggy whitson became the 1st female commander of the international space station the us. with a total of $665.00 days in space she still now says most experienced astronaut of any gender. to date 63 women from 9 countries have carried out missions in space most of them came from the united states. so far germany hasn't sent a woman into space but the us to announce an initiative has selected 2 women to train for space flight. so the term manned spaceflight is obsolete nasa boss jim broaden style has even said the 1st person on mars is likely to be
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a woman. the problem is right right right on the face of it do you have a science question that you've always wanted on thing that we happy to help out send it to us as a video text over smell if we answer it on the show we'll send you a little surprise as a thank you cannot just ask. you'll find as a dot com slash science or drop us a line at v.w. underscores site tech on facebook d w dot science. early this year the israeli lunar probe parachute headed to the moon the lander ended up crashing on the surface. but as the 1st privately initiated and financed lunar mission it stands for the future of space travel alongside national. agencies more and more companies are now aiming for space including one from berlin.
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berlin smart's own district having the cosmonauts the perfect location for germany's 1st lunar landing mission and that's just what these young engineers and computer scientists have been working on for the last 10 years this adventure began with a close encounter of a very earthly kind for perhaps a. minute about 10 years ago my very 1st car with a gift from my parents for passing my exams was written off in an accident there wasn't my fault and the insurance paid out just over 10000 euros. the computer science student invested the money in a science competition along with friends and fellow students the challenge was to put a rover on the moon the prize money was a whopping $20000000.00 u.s. dollars. i was without a car for almost 5 years because i thought all my money into space but it was the financial lift off for the whole project we were all working in our basements and
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our free time than. the team called their company part time scientists and they did indeed win a few 100000 euros in prize money. but since then industrial partners have stepped in to back their new project. their engineers are testing new production techniques on prototypes. the element of this lunar rover for example was created using efficient 3 d. printing this reduced the amount of materials needed by 25 percent. soon the rover will actually explore the moon. but how will it get there that's where alina comes in a spaceship and lander rolled into one a miniature transporter. able to carry payloads of up to 100 kilos.
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to escape the earth's gravity alina needs a bit of help she launch into orbit aboard a space x. rocket from there the landing module needs to travel 400000 kilometers to the moon on its own then land there gently. all at a fraction of the cost of previous missions before but if you take care of yourself we use a lot of existing space technology that he will cost down because we don't have to pay initial development costs or the goal is to manage a mission like this for under $50000000.00 euros that's very cheap for the cheapest mission to lunar orbit so far cost around $200.00 to $250000000.00 from to. for far less than that alina will bring 2 rovers to the moon at the same time they'll investigate the legacies of previous missions. of apollo 17 to be exact.
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when those astronauts return to earth after 3 days they left the moon buggy behind . the berlin based team wants to land only about 200 meters from where the american started back to earth in 1972 that's to ensure that their rovers don't have to overcome too many obstacles on the way they have more important things to do a research assignment. we're interested in the wear and tear we want to understand how different materials have fared in outer space over the past 50 years leather straps plastic cup seats and so on what happened to the stuff a lot of us i mean as yours. by 2020 at the latest the moon should be getting visitors from berlin. numerous missions are slated to head to the moon in
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the coming years maybe one of them will capture imaginations in the same way the apollo program dead. the point of understand apollo was a moment of glory for research a moment of realization that the earth is a tiny spacecraft in this giant universe and we've learned a great deal from it and thanks to apollo we feel differently about our own planet to complete and according to her.
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again the forester's equivalent to 30 suckerfish is cleared every. hour consumerism is causing more radical depletion of forests. for 25. has encouraged. strength. because it. forced spending money. tragic reality behind the exploitation starts july 24th to double. hundreds off the ifs in life cuts. where i come from rajoy remains an important
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concept of mean soft transmitting mules and form ish and when i was young my country was in brawling in many conflicts the war problem of people most people would cause of our own project to see if. it was my job to tour in one side lot of just sites so as not everyone in the column for missing toes against me says. nothing has been from inside my own copy have enjoyed nothing more design. even if it's not. us i was it would have me or. my choice being discarded because given the way toward trying to split such forms. and in the question how much and i. did up.
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this is news coming to you live from berlin the german chancellor credits the you're trying to movement for. environmental policy after annual summer press conference on activists like swedish totenberg driven out to find still on climate change and she answers questions on a range of other topics including. our chief political editor has the details to be joining me in the studio also coming up. the u.s. scream swamp it's.
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