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 

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Permanently shadowed craters around the moon's poles.

A big telescope on the moon could peer deeper into the universe than James Webb

By Tereza Pultarova published

A big telescope on the moon could peer deeper into the universe than the famed James Webb Telescope and perhaps even help find life on exoplanets, scientists say.

a wooden lectern with the presidential seal stands in front of a black background.

Not a fake, JFK 'choose the moon' lectern restored to public display

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

As it turns out, the lectern from which President John F. Kennedy proclaimed 'We choose to go to the moon' has been rightly on display for 30 years, contrary to a report that it was a fake.

six women in blue flight suits stand near a white spacesuit.

'The Six' author Loren Grush: 1st female astronauts set example for picking woman to land on moon

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

Forty-five years after selecting its first six women, NASA has 16 female astronauts who could be the first woman on the moon. For Loren Grush, the best thing is they don't have 'the right stuff.'

The Chandrayaan-3 moon lander from India was spotted on the lunar surface on Sept. 6, 2022 by a fellow mission: Chandrayaan-2, which has been orbiting the moon since 2019.

India's Chandrayaan-3 moon lander shines in radar images from lunar orbit (photos)

By Elizabeth Howell published

India's Chandrayaan-3 moon lander showed up in fresh images taken by the nation's Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter. Chandrayaan-3's lander and rover are in hibernation until the sun rises over them again.

astronauts on the moon planting a Chinese flag

China wants ideas to name spaceship and lander for astronauts on the moon

By Andrew Jones published

China is looking for names for two spacecraft which will deliver astronauts to the surface of the moon.

a round metal ball separated in two halves.

Japan's SLIM moon lander is carrying this transforming ball robot (it's not BB-8)

By Josh Dinner published

A small, spherical robot will roll and walk across the lunar surface thanks to some children's toy technologies.

a man in a suit looks at printouts of data rolled into tall machine stacks

Mysterious moonquake traced to Apollo 17 lunar lander base

By Stefanie Waldek published

A reanalysis of Apollo 17 seismic data has revealed that the Apollo 17 lunar lander base is creating its own moonquakes.

a lander on the lunar surface

India's Chandrayaan-3 robotic moon explorers don't have heaters. Can they survive the frigid lunar night?

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

India's Chandrayaan-3 moon lander and rover are facing their first lunar night. Their chances of waking up at dawn whittle down to luck.

a lander on the lunar surface

India's lunar lander finds 1st evidence of a moonquake in decades

By Ben Turner published

The possible moonquake was detected by India's Chandrayaan-3 mission on its third day on the lunar surface.

the silhouette of a sea bird perched on a wooden outcrop from the water, watches with its beak agape as the flames from a massive rocket launching in the distance reflect on the surface of the water.

NASA's mighty SLS megarocket for Artemis moonshots 'unaffordable' for sustained exploration, audit finds

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

NASA needs to be more transparent about the costs and schedules for its Space Launch System moon rocket, a newly released audit has found.

NASA's ice-hunting VIPER moon rover will ride a commercial Astrobotic Griffin lander to the moon in 2023.

Watch NASA's VIPER moon rover practice leaving its lunar lander (video)

By Elizabeth Howell published

A prototype of VIPER slithered its way down a ramp.

a white rocket launches into a blue sky.

Japan launches SLIM moon lander, XRISM X-ray telescope on space doubleheader (video)

By Mike Wall published

Japan sent two ambitious missions soaring into the heavens today (Sept. 6) — a pioneering moon lander and a powerful X-ray space telescope.

Artist's illustration of a small moon rover on the lunar surface, with the blackness of space on the horizon.

Australia launching moon rover on NASA Artemis mission as soon as 2026

By Mike Wall published

Australia will launch its first moon rover as early as 2026, on one of NASA's Artemis missions. And you can help name the rover — if you're an Australian resident.

photo of the moon's surface taken from lunar orbit, showing many small craters in the gray terrain

India's Chandrayaan-3 moon lander spotted from lunar orbit (photo)

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has snapped a photo of India's Chandrayaan-3 moon lander, the first craft ever to soft-land near the lunar south pole.

Chandrayaan 3 mission's Vikram lander photographed on the moon's surface by the Pragyan rover.

Chandrayaan-3 rover and lander in sleep mode but might wake up later this month

By Tereza Pultarova published

India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar rover and lander have completed their primary mission goals and have been placed into sleep mode ahead of the upcoming two-week lunar night.

Night sky September 2023

See the moon meet up with Jupiter in the night sky tonight

By Robert Lea published

The moon will meet up with Jupiter throughout the night on Sept. 4, making a close approach to the solar system's largest planet in the night sky.

A crowd of engineers cheering with inset photo of spacecraft on moon

India's Chandrayaan-3 landed on the south pole of the moon − a space policy expert explains what this means for India and the global race to the moon

By Mariel Borowitz published

India made history as the first country to land near the south pole of the moon with its Chandrayaan-3 lander on Aug. 23, 2023.

An image of Pragyan (toward the top left of the screen) on the moon.

Watch Chandrayaan-3's Pragyan rover adorably avoid a lunar crater (video)

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

Chandrayaan-3's Pragyan moon rover was rerouted after it encountered a crater while exploring its new home.

a small crater appears on the moon's surface in a before-and-after animation

NASA moon orbiter spots crash site of Russia's failed Luna-25 lander (photos)

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has found the spot where Russia's Luna-25 lander crashed into the moon earlier this month.

Black astronauts celebrate ISS, Artemis 2 moon missions while reflecting on history

By Elizabeth Howell published

Two Black astronauts spoke to Space.com about their experiences in space and what's coming next.