Moon

Scientists say a giant impact knocked off the raw ingredients for the moon off the primitive molten Earth and into orbit.

Related Topics: Earth, Apollo Program, Moon Phases 

Latest Updates

Image of new moon

August new moon 2022: Planet Mercury reaches greatest elongation

By Jesse Emspak published

Reference The new moon of August occurs on Aug. 27 at 4:17 a.m. EDT (0817 GMT). Our guide describes which planets and constellations are visible during August's new moon 2022.

A photo of a nearly full moon. The image was taken one day prior to the supermoon, or a moon that appears larger due to being the closest to Earth in its orbit.

Full moon calendar 2022: When to see the next full moon

By Kimberly Hickok published

Reference The full moon happens about once a month. Find out when.

large full moon rises up behind a hill.

The last supermoon of the year rises Thursday: Watch it online for free

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Watch the last supermoon of the year rise over Rome with the Virtual Telescope Project's free livestream, which starts on Aug. 12 at 1:30 a.m. ET.

NASA's Artemis 1 moon rocket undergoes a crucial fueling test on June 20, 2022.

Celebrate NASA's Artemis 1 mission by sharing your 'moon snaps'

By Mike Wall published

NASA is asking people to share their "moon snaps" to celebrate Artemis 1, which is scheduled to launch on an uncrewed mission around the moon no earlier than Aug. 29.

gateway space station in front of moon

Watch NASA's next-generation lunar Gateway space station build up in concept video

By Elizabeth Howell published

A new NASA video shows how the Gateway space station will put together modules to support Artemis astronauts during their sorties on the lunar surface.

Artist's impression of two spacesuited astronauts working on the moon.

NASA opens up Artemis moon missions to all astronauts

By Elizabeth Howell published

The first agency assignments, for Artemis 2, should be announced later in 2022.

An artist's depiction of what the Artemis 1 launch will look like.

Artemis 1 moon mission launch ticket sales crashed website: report

By Elizabeth Howell published

Ticket sales for NASA's next moonbound launch briefly overwhelmed the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's website, but officials quickly addressed it.

Large, bright full moon to the upper right of the image above a red and white lighthouse with water in the foreground.

Sturgeon Supermoon: August's Sturgeon Full Moon will be the last of 4 in a row

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

The final supermoon of the year will rise this week (Aug. 11). The full Sturgeon moon with likely outshine the Perseid meteor shower which peaks Aug. 11-12.

An illustration depicting a constellation of satellites in orbit around the moon.

China mulls using lunar satellites to probe the cosmic dark ages

By Andrew Jones published

Chinese scientists want to use satellites orbiting the moon to help get an unprecedented look at the early, dark days of our universe.

A composite image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI and NIRCam instruments reveals the odd Cartwheel galaxy in an unprecedented detail.

Space photos: The most amazing images this week!

By Elizabeth Howell published

See the best photos on Space.com this week.

A still from an animation of the lunar south pole.

New mapping method could aid exploration of moon, Mars and beyond

By Andrew Jones published

Researchers have discovered a method for making high-resolution maps of planetary surfaces like the moon's by combining available imagery and topography data.

Artemis 1 rocket beside Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Artemis 1 moon rocket to roll out Aug. 18 for lunar launch

By Elizabeth Howell published

All systems are go so far to roll out the Artemis 1 rocket to the launch pad for a planned liftoff on Aug. 29.

An artist's depiction of what the Artemis 1 launch will look like.

Florida braces for crowds for NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission launch

By Brett Tingley published

Tourism officials in Florida's Space Coast are expecting a massive influx of tourists for the upcoming Artemis 1 moon mission, the first launch for NASA's Space Launch System rocket.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying South Korea's Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter spacecraft launches on Aug. 4, 2022.

SpaceX launches South Korea's 1st-ever moon mission, lands rocket at sea

By Mike Wall published

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), also known as Danuri, lifted off today (Aug. 4) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, kicking off South Korea's first-ever deep-space mission.

An artist's depiction of Masten's lunar lander on the surface of the moon.

NASA moon contractor Masten Space Systems files for bankruptcy: reports

By Elizabeth Howell published

It's unclear at the moment how Masten's Commercial Lunar Payload Services mission for NASA will make its delivery to the moon.

NASA's first Space Launch System, the Artemis 1 moon rocket, stands atop Launch Pad 39B during sunrise in this photo taken March 23, 2022 after its rollout at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Artemis 1 moon mission readies for crucial test for future crewed flights

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA plans to launch its debut Artemis moon mission no earlier than Aug. 29 on a rigorous certification test, to see if the system can safely accept humans on future lunar missions.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 53 Starlink satellites to orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on May 14, 2022.

SpaceX will launch South Korea's 1st moon mission today: Watch live

By Elizabeth Howell published

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday (Aug. 4) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

A Rocket Lab Electron booster seen at sunset in orange light.

You can watch 4 different rocket launches in free webcasts today

By Tariq Malik published

If you're a fan of spaceflight, then Thursday will be a banner day with no less than four different rockets launching missions off planet Earth.

An outburst of Perseid meteors lights up the sky in August 2009 in this time-lapse image.

August's full moon likely to outshine Perseid meteor shower this year, NASA astronomer says

By Samantha Mathewson published

The Perseid meteor shower, one of the most anticipated and popular night-sky shows of the year, is likely to be upstaged by August’s full moon.

Thousands of Artemis 1 mission patches are among the mementos packed in the mission's Official Flight Kit (OFK). The emblems and many of the other items will be presented after the flight to program workers and those who made Artemis I a success.

Apollo 11 relics among 10,000 mementos flying on Artemis 1 moon mission

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

A lunar sample and a piece of the rocket that enabled its collection are set to launch on NASA's next mission to the moon. The Apollo 11 artifacts are part of the Artemis 1 Official Flight Kit.