NASA to reveal exciting new discovery about Moon shortly; know when, where to watch

File Photo (NASA)

Washington: The time is almost here when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will reveal an exciting new discovery about the Moon from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) on Monday (October 26, 2020).

The space nerds and science geeks who have been waiting for this media teleconference will have to tune into NASA's official website at 12 PM EDT (09:30 PM IST).

"This new discovery contributes to NASA's efforts to learn about the Moon in support of deep space exploration," read American space agency's official statement.

Mark your calendars: We will be revealing a new discovery about the surface of the Moon from our airborne @SOFIATelescope observatory, and YOU are invited.

 Pencil us in for 12pm ET on Monday, Oct. 26! To participate: https://t.co/gzfTK43snB pic.twitter.com/HHNXOAYfMh — NASA (@NASA) October 22, 2020

The briefing participants will be: 

1. Paul Hertz, Astrophysics division director at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

2. Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.

3. Casey Honniball, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

4. Naseem Rangwala, project scientist for the SOFIA mission, NASA’s Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California.

The NASA will be revealing a new discovery about the surface of the Moon from their airborne SOFIA Telescope observatory which is the world's largest airborne observatory and is a modified 747 that flies high in the atmosphere to provide its nearly 9-foot telescope with a clear view of the universe and objects in the solar system. It flies above 99% of the atmosphere’s obscuring water vapor and observes in infrared wavelengths and can also detect phenomena impossible to see with visible light.

This is to be noted that under NASA's Artemis program, the agency will send the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 to prepare for their next giant leap – human exploration of Mars as early as the 2030s. 

"Understanding the science of the Moon also helps piece together the broader history of the inner solar system," said NASA.