The far side of the Moon sees its share of sunlight – it’s dark only in the sense that it’s mysterious because it’s never visible from Earth. Here’s why.
This year the Apollo 11 mission turns 50 - but what does the future hold for the Moon? The ephemeral shadows cast by human artefacts may soon be joined by more permanent scars of lunar mining.
President Richard M. Nixon welcomes the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet, the recovery ship for the mission, where they are quarantined. From left to right: Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin.
NASA
Objects left on the Moon are not just abandoned rockets and rovers. There is a lot of historic and sentimental memorabilia. Some of it hints at a mission that the first Moonwalkers almost forgot.
Artist’s depiction of a moon base with a view of Earth in the distance.
Pavel Chagochkin/Shutterstock.com
Scientists are figuring out how to reduce the cost of space travel – to and from the Moon and possibly to Mars. One approach is to mine the Moon for resources necessary for interplanetary travel.
Neil Armstrong took this photograph of Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the moon.
NASA
Throughout the world, unique sites of natural and cultural heritage are protected for future generations. But what about sites on the moon that represent the beginning of the human space age?
China has become the first to land on the far side of the moon. And unlike previous uncrewed moon landings, it relied on sophisticated technology rather than luck.