Constant gusts of particles from the sun may be creating water molecules on the moon, a new NASA-led experiment hints. Scientists have detected traces of water molecules — as well as hydroxyl (OH) molecules, a component of water — on the surface of the moon through multiple space missions. The source of this water has … Read more
The Blue Ghost’s lunar lander has captured a sunrise on the moon and other stunning images after its successful touchdown on the lunar surface early on Sunday morning (Mar. 2). Blue Ghost landed in an enormous basin in the northeastern part of the moon’s near-side at 3:34 a.m. EST, NASA announced in a statement. The … Read more
The first analysis of lava samples from the moon’s far side reveals that volcanoes were erupting there 2.8 billion years ago. The moon is tidally locked with Earth, meaning the same side always faces our planet. The far side is less explored than the near side. Only two landers, both from China, have made it … Read more
You don’t need a telescope to see that the moon is riddled with craters. For billions of years, our celestial neighbor has been absolutely bombarded by asteroids and comets, and the assault has left behind a heavily pockmarked lunar surface. The largest and oldest-known impact site on the moon is the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, … Read more
Data from India’s recent Chandrayaan-3 mission supports the idea that an ocean of molten rock once covered the moon. Scientists from the mission have published their new findings in the journal Nature. On August 23 2023, a lander called Vikram successfully touched down on the lunar surface. Controllers then deployed a rover called Pragyan, which … Read more
Earth’s days once got more than two hours longer, thanks to the moon drifting thousands of miles farther away in its orbit over two periods, researchers have discovered. The extra hours of sunlight, in turn, may have led to oxygenation events that ushered in a period when life’s complexity exploded, the study researchers say. “Daylength … Read more
The Moon’s surface is pockmarked with more than 200 known pits where rocks and regolith collapsed into depths unknown. New research has found that one of those pits, in Mare Tranquillitatis, collapsed into a lava tube and made an underground cave conduit accessible from the lunar surface. “We found a sort of front door to … Read more
It is easy to imagine the moon as an atmosphere-less hunk of rock orbiting Earth. However, while lacking breathable air, our planet’s loyal natural satellite companion does have a thin and wispy atmosphere. Scientists have long puzzled over the existence of this tenuous atmosphere or “exosphere” and have searched for the main process that sustains … Read more
Scientists in China have discovered water molecules trapped in lunar rocks, upending past assumptions that the moon’s surface is dry. The rock samples, collected from the moon’s surface and brought back to Earth by China’s Chang’e 5 mission in 2020, contain crystals filled with “hydrated molecules,” according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Samples brought … Read more
It would appear that the so-called “great instability” event that wreaked chaos among the planets, sending the gas giants careening through space until they settled into the orbits we know today, occurred between 60 and 100 million years after the birth of the solar system. This is the conclusion of some careful scientific detective work … Read more
