00:00About a century ago, people envisioned the 21st century as a time filled with quirky
00:11inventions.
00:12They weren't far off the mark.
00:14We're now one step closer to establishing an actual settlement on the moon.
00:20Before we can create a new home up, we need to find a way to stay connected, beyond just
00:25transportation and shipping.
00:28Being able to send a simple text, even something as casual as, hey how are you, is essential.
00:34We can't move to the moon if we're cut off from earth.
00:37Let me spill some tea.
00:39A lunar 4G network is currently being developed.
00:43The company leading this initiative is none other than Nokia's Bell Labs.
00:47The company, bought by the world famous Finnish company that started out as a paper mill in
00:52the 19th century and later ventured into the cell phone industry, creating iconic devices
00:58long before Apple launched its first phone.
01:02Once the network is completed, it will be loaded onto a lander, deployed and connected
01:07using specialized radio equipment.
01:09But don't think this is just a fun experiment.
01:12It has significant purposes.
01:14The Lunar Outpost rover, one of the vehicles involved in this mission, will thoroughly
01:19explore an area known as the Shackleton Connecting Ridge.
01:24Another rover, the Micronova, will investigate a lunar crater in search of ice.
01:30When they discover ice and capture images, this information will be first transmitted
01:34to the lander, and then relayed to earth.
01:38An unprecedented achievement in history.
01:43Moreover, the importance of a reliable phone connection cannot be overstated.
01:49Currently, astronauts communicate via radio, but NASA aims to establish a lunar communication
01:56system capable of supporting high-resolution video.
02:00Effective communication during space missions is as crucial as food and water, and with
02:05this new lunar 4G technology, video calls on the moon could soon become a reality.
02:12Plus, thanks to Lunar 4G, we'll be able to track how the endangered species sent to
02:18the moon are doing.
02:19Oh, sorry, I completely forgot to mention something important.
02:24As more species edge closer to extinction today, scientists are collecting samples from
02:29animals, plants, and other organisms to store in biorepositories around the globe.
02:36Unfortunately, the conditions on Earth are far from ideal for these modern-day Noah's
02:41Arks.
02:43Hence the decision to build one or two vaults on the moon makes perfect sense.
02:48On the moon, there is a permanently shadowed region at its south pole.
02:53It may seem like a fortunate coincidence, but some lunar craters may meet the criterion
02:58of temperature, negative 320 degrees Fahrenheit, which is precisely what we need for long-term
03:04self-storage.
03:05Initially, the plan was to construct the vault in lava tubes that run beneath the moon's
03:11surface, but that would have posed significant risks.
03:15This design requires a special solar-powered cooling system, and any accidental loss of
03:20power could be catastrophic, resulting in the destruction of all the samples.
03:26However, if we built it in a forever frozen shadowed area, the vault wouldn't need any
03:32energy or human maintenance.
03:34Bingo!
03:35It sounds almost too good to be true, and indeed there are several complications.
03:40For instance, dust is an omnipresent issue on the moon, infiltrating everything.
03:46If the storage requires seals, a dust mitigation system must be developed, which has not yet
03:52been created.
03:53So for now, it remains a theoretical concept rather than a practical solution.
03:5940, 50 feet, why don't you turn around and let them get a view from there and…
04:05I know you want to learn about real things, not just concepts.
04:09Here's something real for you.
04:10The moon is full of… human waste, carefully packed into bags.
04:16According to estimates, there are around 96 of these bags you'd probably prefer to never
04:21open, but you never know what exactly is hidden inside.
04:25It could be any product of the human body out there.
04:28So if we ever make it to the moon and you accidentally stumble upon a mysterious bag,
04:33my advice is to resist the urge to open it.
04:36Instead, you can hand it over to scientists.
04:39They say they're eager to get their hands on them.
04:43Humans are incredible, in a rather unfortunate way.
04:46We haven't even established a proper settlement on the moon yet, but there's already around
04:51200 tons of junk scattered about.
04:55It piles up there as if it were a teenager's room rather than a celestial body.
05:00Alongside those rather unappealing human waste bags, you'll also find cameras, drills, towels,
05:06brushes, rakes, a multitude of other technical items, and surprisingly, a falcon's feather.
05:13I'll explain that in a moment.
05:16At the end of Apollo 15's final moonwalk, David Scott pulled out a falcon's feather
05:21and a hammer to demonstrate Galileo's theory that in the absence of air resistance, different
05:27objects fall at the same rate.
05:30Amidst all that junk, there's an actual piece of art.
05:33So we could say that the moon, if it doesn't have the very first art museum, at least boasts
05:38a small exhibition.
05:40The crew of Apollo 15 took a 3.5-inch tall aluminum figure to the moon.
05:46Created by a Belgian artist, it's called the Fallen Astronaut, and it was laid on its side
05:51with a plaque listing the names of astronauts and cosmonauts who contributed to exploration.
05:57But the list of odd objects on the moon doesn't end there.
06:01If you ever find yourself in need of cash, you can find it on the moon, since a stack
06:06of $2 bills was simply forgotten there.
06:09Yep, a lot of material has been collected since 1969, when humans first stepped on the
06:14moon.
06:21Our natural satellite was first seen in a telescope in 1609.
06:25But what about its true age?
06:28To understand that, we need to start with how the moon first formed.
06:33Back in the mid-80s, a conference in Hawaii brought together a bunch of scientists to
06:37figure out where the moon came from.
06:40They came up with a pretty cool idea.
06:43The moon probably formed with the stuff that our planet Earth donated.
06:47Picture this.
06:48A Mars-sized object crashed into the early Earth, flinging molten materials into space,
06:54which eventually came together to become the moon we see today.
06:59This theory clears up a lot of mysteries.
07:01For instance, it used to baffle folks why the moon has such a small iron core.
07:07The answer is simple.
07:09It formed from Earth's outer layer, which isn't rich in iron.
07:13And that pale crust of the moon?
07:15It's just minerals that floated to the top when the molten moon cooled down.
07:20At first, the moon was super close to Earth, but it's been slowly drifting away at about
07:252 inches a year, even while you're watching this video!
07:29Figuring out when this all went down, though, is a bit tricky.
07:33The Apollo astronauts brought back a bunch of moon rocks, which helped scientists estimate
07:38their ages.
07:39The oldest ones are around 4.35 billion years old, which is about 200 million years after
07:46the solar system kicked off.
07:49So here's the thing.
07:51There's no exact date for when the moon formed, but there are several interesting theories.
07:57One idea is that the age of these rocks could mean the moon is around 4.35 billion years
08:03old.
08:04But some scientists who look at how planets form think that most of the material in the
08:08early solar system came together way before that 200 million year mark.
08:14They argue that a big impact that created the moon happening that late seems pretty
08:19unlikely, which means the moon could actually be older than 3.5 billion years.
08:26Another interesting thought is that the moon might have gone through some serious heating
08:30events as it moved away from Earth.
08:32This is similar to what happens on Io, one of Jupiter's super volcanic moons.
08:37The gravitational pull from a bigger body can stretch and compress a smaller one, generating
08:42heat, like when you squeeze a rubber ball.
08:45The rocks on both Io and the moon warm up this way.
08:50Rocks have radioactive elements that act like internal clocks, helping scientists figure
08:55out their ages.
08:56The catch is, if the moon heats up too much, it resets those clocks and only starts keeping
09:01time again once it cools down.
09:04So those rocks that are about 4.35 billion years old might not actually mark the moon's
09:09birthday.
09:10They could just indicate a time of tidal heating.
09:14This suggests, once again, that the moon had to have formed even earlier than that!
09:20That's it for today!
09:22So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
09:26friends!
09:27Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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