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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Plants grown in simulated lunar soil on the left and in Apollo sample on the right, seen 16 days after planting.

Scientists grow 1st plants in moon soil

By Rebecca Sohn published

More than 50 years after the first Apollo samples were brought to Earth, scientists have successfully grown plants in lunar soil for the first time.

Artist's illustration showing the CAPSTONE spacecraft in a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the moon.

NASA's CAPSTONE cubesat launch to the moon delayed to May 31

By Elizabeth Howell published

The liftoff of the CAPSTONE moon mission has been pushed four days to no earlier than May 31, NASA announced this week.

Artist's impression of a spacecraft powered by nuclear thermal propulsion.

US military wants nuclear rocket ideas for missions near the moon

By Elizabeth Howell published

The U.S. military is ready to take the next step in developing a nuclear rocket to help monitor Earth-moon space, an area it has deemed a high strategic priority.

A meteor streaks across the night sky in Bazhou, Xinjiang Province, China, in the early morning of December 14, 2021.

Watch Space.com columnist Joe Rao talk upcoming lunar eclipse and meteor outburst

By Joe Rao published

Space.com columnist Joe Rao will talk about the upcoming lunar eclipse potential meteor outburst in a series of virtual talks.

Moving heavy industrial activities off Earth could help solve some of our planets' problems, some experts say.

Mining the moon to help save life on Earth (op-ed)

By Lewis Pinault published

We can end the current fossil fuel war, by providing abundant resources and clean energy from the moon to Earth, and by moving our toxic industries away from our unique and precious biosphere.

Large pink supermoon rises through wispy clouds above Vancouver city skyline.

Supermoon: What is it and when does it occur?

By Elizabeth Howell published

Reference A supermoon occurs when the full moon coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth in its orbit. 2022 will experience four supermoons.

The total lunar eclipse of Jan. 20-21, 2019, captured by astrophotographers Imelda Joson and Edwin Aguirre from the suburbs of Boston. From left to right: The start of totality, at 11:41 p.m. EST on Jan. 20; the middle of totality, at 12:12 a.m. on Jan. 21; and the end of totality at 12:44 a.m.

See the fiery Blood Moon rise in a total lunar eclipse in May's must-see skywatching event

By Joe Rao published

If the weather is clear, skywatchers across most of the Americas, Europe and Africa will have a view of one of nature's most beautiful spectacles: a total eclipse of the moon.

The European Space Agency's CESAR team captured this view of a total lunar eclipse in January 2019.

Total lunar eclipse webcasts: How to watch the Super Blood Flower Moon of May 2022 online tonight

By Elizabeth Howell published

Here's how to watch the Super Blood Moon total lunar eclipse of May 15-16, 2022 live online.

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.

NASA will try again to fuel Artemis 1 moon rocket in June as launch slips to August

By Mike Wall published

NASA will take its fourth crack at fueling up its Artemis 1 moon rocket next month, if all goes according to plan.

A frozen moon rock from Apollo 17 while it's being processed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA scientists start studying 50-year-old frozen Apollo 17 moon samples

By Chelsea Gohd published

NASA scientists have begun to study 50-year-old samples of the moon's surface, collected during the agency's final moon landing mission, Apollo 17.

The Chang'e 5 return capsule at its landing site in Inner Mongolia, China, on Dec. 17, 2020.

Moon-exploring astronauts could get oxygen and fuel from lunar rocks

By Andrew Jones published

Scientists at Nanjing University believe they can use compounds found in lunar soil to locally produce oxygen and fuel to support crewed moon missions.

An artist's depiction of work on the moon as part of the Artemis program.

Canada considers adding moon crimes to its Criminal Code

By Elizabeth Howell published

Canada is working on legislation that would allow legal action against crimes committed on the moon, among other space locations.

The total lunar eclipse on Sept. 27, 2015, as seen from Washington, D.C.

A total lunar eclipse will turn the moon red the night of May 15

By Stefanie Waldek published

This year's first lunar eclipse — one of two — will be able to be seen across the majority of the Americas.

The Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft will test a GPS receiver in orbit around the moon.

This device will make GPS work on the moon

By Tereza Pultarova published

Engineers are currently testing a device that will make GPS navigation work on the moon in the U.K. ahead of a 2024 launch of a demonstration mission.

The moon sets after a partial lunar eclipse in November 2021.

May's lunar eclipse and a wild-card meteor shower may offer double spectacle

By Joe Rao published

May offers an unusual skywatching bounty: the possibility of two major celestial highlights occurring within the span of a single month.

Mercury and the moon (lower right) portrayed close together in Earth's sky on May 2, 2022.

Don't miss Mercury shine with the crescent moon in tonight's sky!

By Elizabeth Howell published

The moon will point the way to the usually elusive Mercury tonight (May 2).

The partial solar eclipse of April 30, 2022 is seen at sunset in this zoomed in view from Argentina by Timeanddate.com and partner Latinoamericano de Astroturismo.

Black Moon solar eclipse looks otherworldly in stunning images

By Elizabeth Howell published

The rare partial solar eclipse stunned skywatchers on Apirl 30. Here's a look at their images.

In the next decade, both a U.S.-led group and a collaboration between Russia and China aim to set up bases on the Moon.

Space Blocs: The future of international cooperation in space is splitting along lines of power on Earth

By Svetla Ben-Itzhak published

Some scholars predict a future in which single states pursue various levels of dominance, while others foresee a scenario in which commercial entities bring nations together.

The partial solar eclipse of April 30, 2022 is seen at sunset in this zoomed in view from Argentina by Timeanddate.com and partner Latinoamericano de Astroturismo.

Rare Black Moon solar eclipse takes bite out of sun over South America

By Samantha Mathewson published

Skywatchers across parts of the Southern Hemisphere were treated to the first partial eclipse of the year today (April 30).

From his balcony in Rome, Gianluca Masi captured this night-sky image of Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn (plus the moon) lined up.

4 planets line up like ducks in a row in gorgeous night-sky image

By Stephanie Pappas published

The moon is leading a parade of four planets across the predawn sky this week.