Who’s rushing? The Chinese Long March 5 rocket lifts off.
zhangjin_net/Shutterstock.com
Dreams of new footprints on the moon are more about domestic politics than foreign policy.
Full moon photographed from Earth.
Gregory H. Revera/wikimedia
International plan for a lunar space station may lag behind efforts by private companies.
A total solar eclipse will be visible across parts of the United States Aug. 21, treating amateur and professional astronomers alike to sights similar to this NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory ultraviolet image of the moon eclipsing the sun on Jan. 31, 2014.
(NASA)
If you’ve ever wondered why you can look at a solar eclipse and why it can harm your eyes, the answer is in the sun’s rays.
A solar eclipse observed over Grand Canyon National Park in May 2012.
Grand Canyon National Park
More than 2,000 years ago, the Babylonians understood the cycle of eclipses. They also regarded them as signs that could foretell the death of a king.
Composite image of moments before, during and after totality.
NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
An astronomer explains how. why and when eclipses happen, what scientists can learn from them, and what they would look like if you were standing on the Moon.
A view from the ‘Kimberley’ formation on Mars taken by NASA’s Curiosity rover. The strata in the foreground dip towards the base of Mount Sharp, indicating flow of water toward a basin that existed before the larger bulk of the mountain formed.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
We could learn a lot from any mission to send people to Mars, such as whether there’s life elsewhere in the universe or even the technology for new household appliances.
Between the Earth and the moon: An artist’s rendering of a refueling depot for deep-space exploration.
Sung Wha Kang (RISD)
To get us to Mars and beyond, a team of students from around the world has a plan involving lunar rovers mining ice and a space station between the Earth and the moon.
Fe Ilya/Flickr
The Moon belongs to all of us. Let’s share in its beauty from afar without splashing around $100 million on a showy space trip.
Will the moon move from servant to equal?
Gregory H. Revera/wikipedia
Scientists first started disagreeing about whether the moon should be a planet in Galileo’s day.
Eugene Cernan inside the lunar module after his second moonwalk of the mission. His spacesuit is covered with moondust.
NASA
Often eclipsed by Apollo 11, the final manned moonshot left far more than bootprints in the dust. In these troubling times, it also left us with a lasting message of hope.
Right side of the moon.
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
The moon may be slightly older than previously thought, suggests a new study.
This image is an approximation of what the upcoming supermoon will look like.
Credit: NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio
The full moon is stunning – and this month it’ll be larger than normal. Do make it a reason to embrace the darkness and have a look.
Enjoy the full moon’s glow.
mstollenwerk
Full moons are good reason to look up – and the one on Nov. 14 is no exception. But here’s why you likely won’t see something shockingly different from other full moons you’ve observed over the years.
The moon’s Orientale impact basin, with rings. Red corresponds to ‘hills’ and blue to ‘valleys’.
Ernest Wright, NASA/GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio.)
New study suggests a 64km diameter body travelling at 15km per second created the Orientale Basin on the moon.
FullMoon.
The story of how water got inside the moon could also help us understand the origin of water on Earth.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft will be able to take humans further away from Earth than ever before.
NASA
From inflatable space stations to trips to asteroids and maybe even Mars, the next decade of human spaceflight will include many exciting firsts.
A render of the BEAM attached to the International Space Station.
Bigelow Aerospace
Inflatable space habitats, like the one installed on the International Space Station this week, could see wide application in space and planetary exploration.
Gene Cernan driving a lunar rover in December 1972.
NASA
The Last Man on the Moon is much more than a biographical documentary – it is a gripping account of human endeavour.
Enceladus, with its warm internal ocean, is thought to be potentially habitable.
Marc Van Norden/Flickr
A new theory could change our understanding of the moons in our solar system – and the genesis of life itself.
Scientists pinpoint lunar craters likely to have water from the early solar system.
Gregory H. Revera/wikimedia
A six degree change in the moon’s tilt could help us understand the origin of water in the inner solar system, and help us mine our staellite for it, too.