Moon Archives

February 17, 2021February 17, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

The Largest Crater on the Moon Reveals Secrets About its Early History

Thorium concentrations measured by Lunar Prospector across the vast South Pole–Aitken Basin on the lunar far side are shown here, illustrating how mantle material ejected by an impact event about 4.3 billion years ago is currently distributed across the surface. Warmer colors represent higher concentrations; contour lines are at intervals of 0.5 part per million. Credit: Daniel P. Moriarty III

One of the oldest, deepest, and largest impact craters on the Moon provides a window into the history and makeup of our celestial companion, and needs to be studied in more detail, says a team of lunar scientists. The South Pole-Aitken Basin on the Moon formed from a gigantic impact about 4.3 billion years ago. Scientists say a more detailed analysis of this area will help refine the timeline of events in the Moon’s development, as well as help explain the dramatic differences between the lunar nearside and farside.

February 14, 2021February 14, 2021 by Matt Williams

NASA has Decided to Start Building the Lunar Gateway Using the Falcon Heavy

An illustration of the Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element and Habitation and Logistics Outpost in orbit around the Moon. Credits: NASA

In October of 2024, NASA will send “the first woman and the next man” to the Moon as part of the Artemis Program. This will be the first crewed mission to the lunar surface, and the first mission beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO), since the closing of the Apollo Era in 1972. Beyond that, NASA plans to establish infrastructure on and around the Moon that will allow for “sustained lunar exploration and development.”

A key aspect of this is the Lunar Gateway, an orbiting habitat that will allow astronauts to make regular trips to and from the lunar surface. After much consideration, NASA recently announced that they have selected SpaceX to launch the foundational elements of the Gateway – the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) – by May of 2024 (at the earliest).

February 14, 2021February 14, 2021 by Scott Alan Johnston

Lunar Spacecraft Gets an Upgrade to Capture New Perspectives of the Moon

Eleven years into its mission, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is starting to show its age, but a recent software update promises to give the spacecraft a new lease on life. As NASA’s eye in the sky over the Moon, the LRO has been responsible for some of the best Lunar observations since the days of Apollo. This new upgrade will allow that legacy to continue.

February 3, 2021February 3, 2021 by Evan Gough

The Earth’s Magnetosphere Might be Creating Water on the Moon

Artist’s depiction of the Moon in the magnetosphere, with “Earth wind” made up of flowing oxygen ions (gray) and hydrogen ions (bright blue), which can react with the lunar surface to create water. The Moon spends >75% of its orbit in the solar wind (yellow), which is blocked by the magnetosphere the rest of the time. Credit: E. Masongsong, UCLA EPSS, NASA GSFC SVS.

There’s no doubt that the Moon has water on its surface. Orbiters have spotted deposits of ice persisting in the perpetual shadows of polar craters. And recent research shows that water exists in sunlit parts of the Moon, too.

Over the years, scientists have presented evidence that the Moon’s water came from comets, from asteroids, from inside the Moon, and even from the Sun.

But now new research is pointing the finger directly at Earth as the source of some of the Moon’s water.

January 5, 2021January 5, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Chang’e-5 Brought Home 1.7 Kilograms of Lunar Samples

Chinese scientists open the sample container from the Chang-e-5 lunar sample return mission. Credit: Xinhua

China’s Chang’e-5 lunar lander retrieved about 1.7 kilograms (3.81 pounds) of samples from the Moon, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The Chang’e-5 sample return capsule landed in China’s Inner Mongolia region on December 16, 2020, successfully capping a 23-day odyssey that brought back the first lunar rocks since 1976.

December 28, 2020December 28, 2020 by Andy Tomaswick

To Help Trudge Through the Snow, the Chang’e-5 Recovery Team Wore Powered Exoskeletons

Change-5 Recovery team moves the return capsule.

Other worlds aren’t the only difficult terrain personnel will have to traverse in humanity’s exploration of the solar system. There are some parts of our own planet that are inhospitable and hard to travel over. Inner Mongolia, a northern province of China, would certainly classify as one of those areas, especially in winter. But that’s exactly the terrain team members from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC) had to traverse on December 16th to retrieve lunar samples from the Chang’e-5 mission. What was even more unique is that they did it with the help of exoskeletons.

December 22, 2020May 9, 2022 by Matt Williams

A Canadian Astronaut Will be on Artemis 2, Making it the Second Nation to Send Humans Into Deep Space (but not Walk on the Moon)

PHOTO DATE: 12-07-17 LOCATION: Ellington Field - Hangar 276 SUBJECT: CSA astronauts NEAR A T-38 PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD AND DAVID DEHOYOS

NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) recently announced that a Canadian astronaut will fly as part of the crew of Artemis II. This mission, scheduled for May of 2024, will see an Orion space capsule conduct a circumlunar flight where it flies around the Moon without landing. This will be the first of two crew opportunities that NASA will provide for Canadian astronauts on Artemis missions (as per the agreement).

December 19, 2020December 19, 2020 by Matt Williams

Here are NASA’s Science Priorities for the Artemis Missions

View of the Earth rising above the lunar horizon, taken during the Apollo 11 mission. Credit: NASA

In October of 2024, NASA will send astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo Era. After establishing orbit with their Orion spacecraft, a team of two astronauts (“the first woman and the next man”) will land in the Moon’s southern polar region. Over the course of a week, these astronauts will explore and investigate one of the region’s many permanently-shadowed craters.

As the first crewed lunar mission in over fifty years, this mission and those that follow will have a robust series of science objectives. These objectives were laid out in the Artemis III Science Definition Team Report, which was released to the public earlier this month. This report is a summary of the science plan prepared at the behest of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) for the Artemis III mission.

December 18, 2020December 18, 2020 by Matt Williams

Here’s Chang’e-5, Seen From Lunar Orbit

Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

On Tuesday, December 1^st, at 10:11 EST (07:00 PST) the Chang’e-5 sample return spacecraft landed safely on the Moon. This mission is the latest in China’s lunar exploration program, which is paving the way for the creation of a lunar outpost and a crewed mission by the 2030s. The day after it landed, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) passed over the site and acquired an image of the lander.

December 9, 2020December 9, 2020 by Andy Tomaswick

A Company is Hoping to Race Rovers on the Moon

Artist Rendering of the lunar race rovers — Credit: Frank Stephenson & Moon Mark

There is an argument to be made about playing sports in space. Differences in gravity, atmospheres, and even “weather” can make for some interesting variation of well known sports. And if there’s one sport that’s been around for as long as humanity, it’s racing. Viewers that tune in for the entertainment could provide a great source of funding revenue that could help support other, more scientifically rigorous programs. Now a company called Lunar Outpost has announced plans to hold the first ever extraterrestrial robotic race – on the moon.