Day: May 29, 2021

Lunar Dust and Duct Tape

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Why is the Moon so dusty? On Earth, rocks are weathered by wind and water, creating soil and sand. On the Moon, the history of constant micrometeorite bombardment has blasted away at the rocky surface creating a layer of powdery lunar soil or regolith. For the Apollo astronauts and their equipment, the pervasive, fine, gritty dust was definitely a problem. On the lunar surface in December 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan needed to repair one of their rover’s fenders in an effort to keep the rooster tails of dust away from themselves and their gear. This picture reveals the wheel and fender of their dust covered rover along with the ingenious application of spare maps, clamps, and a grey strip of “duct tape”. via NASA https://ift.tt/3urPVhr

Wikipedia article of the day for May 29, 2021

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Wikipedia article of the day is Mysteries of Isis. Check it out: Article-Link Summary: The mysteries of Isis were religious initiation rites performed in the cult of the goddess Isis in the Greco-Roman world. Alluding to the worship of Isis from ancient Egyptian religion, they were modeled on other mystery rites, particularly the Eleusinian mysteries, which honored the Greek goddess Demeter. By undergoing the mystery rites, initiates signaled their dedication to Isis. Many texts from the Roman Empire refer to the Isis mysteries, but the only source to describe them is a work of fiction, the novel The Golden Ass, written in the second century by Apuleius. In it, the initiate undergoes ritual purification before descending into the innermost part of Isis’s temple, where he experiences a symbolic death and rebirth and has an intense religious experience. Some aspects of the mysteries of Isis and of other mystery cults resemble elements of Christianity, but the evidence for their influence on Christianity is unclear.