Like all relationships, our association with the moon has had its ups and downs. In this series we’ve talked about the nature of the satellite and how we think it was formed - in a giant collision that…
How does the moon affect Earth’s inhabitants?
shutterstock.com
From encouraging the first steps of life migrating from the oceans to the land, to stabilising Earth’s axial tilt against chaotic excursions, the moon is often put forth almost as a magical ingredient…
The moon has no choice but to show its good side.
Nuranna
Technically, Pink Floyd had it wrong. The space-facing side of the moon isn’t dark (except at full moon when the Earth is between the sun and the moon). Not that you’d know that, given we always see the…
What do we know about how the moon was created?
EPA/Ali Ali
The more we learn about the formation and evolution of our solar system, the more we realise it was far from a sedate, gentle process. Everywhere we look we find evidence the final stages of planetary…
The moon in total lunar eclipse as seen over Sydney in 2011.
AAP/Sydney Observatory
The moon. Our nearest neighbour. The main source of the ocean’s tides, and a beacon that drives the lives of animals across the globe. And also, to date, the only object beyond Earth on which humans have…
Scientists need a material that behaves like moon soil to conduct experiments that may one day lead to lunar mining.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/almekinders
Australian researchers have developed a substance that looks and behaves like soil from the moon’s surface and can be mixed with polymers to create ‘lunar concrete’, a finding that may help advance plans…
We could be engaged in off-Earth mining within a decade.
puuikibeach/Flickr
The prospect of people settling away from Earth has been a topic for dreamers and visionaries for some time. But if it’s ever to happen for real, there needs to be more than starry-eyed optimism. There…
This still image and animation shows the final flight path for NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission spacecraft, which impacted the moon on Dec. 17, 2012, around 2:28 p.m. PST. Their successful prime and extended science missions now completed, the twin GRAIL spacecraft Ebb and Flow are being sent purposefully into the moon because their low orbit and fuel state precludes further scientific operations. The animations were created from data obtained by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/ASU
NASA deliberately crashed two decommissioned space craft into the moon today in a controlled landing aimed at preserving heritage sites on the lunar surface. The twin space ships, named Ebb and Flow, were…
Three years ago we discovered water on the moon, and now we’ve worked out where it’s from.
Jason Bache
A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience last week suggests water on the moon may have come, at least in part, from the sun. Until a few years ago the orthodox view was that the moon was bone-dry…
Things may not be as they’d previously seemed regarding the moon’s formation.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
New research published in the planetary science journal Icarus, shows the moon may have been formed by a glancing collision with an “impactor” in the violent days of the early solar system. Contrary to…
What surprises are beyond the horizon for NASA’s spacecraft during its planned encounter with Pluto and its moon, Charon?
NASA
Last week, scientists using one of the Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Cameras announced the discovery of a small moon orbiting the dwarf planet Pluto - the fifth satellite discovered in orbit around…
As history has repeatedly shown, where there are valuable minerals to be unearthed, adventurous humans will arrive in droves – even if it means battling extreme conditions and risking life and limb. So…