Gizmorama - October 7, 2015

Good Morning,

Good news everyone, we're going back to the moon, thanks to Moon Express. Actually, three robotic lunar landings are set for 2017. Looks like we're ready to explore the moon again. In my opinion - that rocks!

Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Space startup confirms plans for robotic moon landings --*
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - California-based space exploration startup Moon Express has signed a deal with Rocket Lab to commence a series of lunar launches starting in 2017.

CEO Bob Richards announced the partnership between his company, known as MoonEx, and the lab on Thursday. The contract marks the beginning stages of three consecutive robotic lunar landings set to take place two years from now. The company's goal is to win the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize for being the first private company to do so.

"Getting to the moon is really hard," Richards told Popular Mechanics. "We wanted to be in a situation where we weren't just an all-in-one-basket mission because, hey, things happen. Landing on the moon the first time would be fantastic, but we want to have some backup plans and to be able to try it again and then try it again."

MoonEx has already partnered with NASA's Innovative Lunar Demonstration Data Program and Google's Lunar X Prize competition to further develop its MX-1 vehicle for a moon landing.

The latter tech giant is offering $30 million to the first private company to land on and effectively explore the moon through surface travel and high-definition recordings. MoonEx has already been awarded over $1 million from Google and $500,000 from NASA in support of its research.

The Mountain View, Calif., startup was founded by entrepreneurs Naveen Jain, Bob Richards and Barney Bell in 2010. Its goal is to successfully begin mining the Moon's surface for resources such as PT-78, Helium and other rare earth metals, deeming the orbiting mass the "eighth continent."


*-- Scientists harvest rare earth elements from discarded engines --*
WORCESTER, Mass. - Rare earth elements are needed to make a wide range of products -- from everyday objects like energy efficient light bulbs and smartphones to advanced technologies like industrial lasers and medical imaging devices.

But rare earth elements are named so for a reason. Scarcity has become a problem as more technologies require their mining.

Researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts are in the process of developing a sustainable domestic supply of rare earth elements. Engineers there have developed a technique for recovering rare earth elements from the engines of junked electric and hybrid cars.

The technology could offer a cheaper and eco-friendly alternative to the United States' reliance on China for rare earth metals.

Recently, scientists tested their methods on an all-electric Chevrolet Spark. The car's drive unit was shredded, and then treated using a two-step chemical extraction process. The method successfully separated neodymium, dysprosium, and praseodymium from the car's electric motor and other drive train components.

Researchers were also able to recover other recyclable pieces like steel chips.

"The fact that China has the majority of operable separation facilities in the world is a huge problem for the United States," WPI professor Marion Emmert said in a press release. "Large car manufacturers are dependent on the magnets composed of these elements for car production, so it's really critical for rare earth recovery and separation technologies to take hold here."

Emmert is the lead author of a new paper on the method, published this week in the journal Green Chemistry.

"In the last 20 years, the United States has lost knowledge and expertise on how to mine, recover, and separate these materials," Emmert added. "We're hoping that starts to change and that the United States becomes less dependent on foreign countries to recover rare earth elements."

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