Leap Day is coming.
Marvin Samuel Tolentino Pineda/iStock, via Getty images
Humans have synced their calendars to the sun and moon for centuries, but every so often, these systems need a little correction.
The Moon over a minaret of the grand Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan.
AP Photo/Anjum Naveed
Two scholars who study death rituals explain that the corpse is considered spiritually polluting in many religious traditions, while the Moon holds a sacred place.
Looking for love − a store in Huaian, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, selling flowers on Valentine’s Day.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
Young people in China are no longer settling into marriages arranged by their parents. But they are still looking for blessings from Chinese gods to find everlasting love.
The dark, far side of the Moon is the perfect place to conduct radio astronomy.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
Projects under NASA’s CLPS program – including the Odysseus lander that made it to the lunar surface – will probe unexplored questions about the universe’s formation.
Mining the moon for its resources is growing more and more likely.
(Shutterstock)
As space travel and lunar exploration becomes a near-future reality, we should consider the impact of human activities on the lunar environment.
The Ingenuity helicopter on Mars.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
Among the missions being planned is a huge helicopter drone to explore Saturn’s moon Titan.
NASA
The US might be facing international competition to be first to return to the Moon.
The Peregrine lunar lander.
Astrobotic Technology/AP
Sending human ashes and personal mementoes to the Moon is now possible, but it opens up a maze of legal and ethical conundrums.
Data from the SLIM mission projected at JAXA’s Sagamihara Campus during the craft’s landing.
AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko
Japan is one of several countries that weren’t part of the space race of the 1950s and 1960s looking toward the Moon. They’ve now become the 5th country to have landed on its surface.
Illustration of the Japanese moon
lander separating in orbit.
JAXA
Japan’s space agency is landing its first lunar probe this week. This makes the Moon an increasingly busy target for spacefaring nations – with conflicting political stances among them.
The Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. The successful Artemis I mission was the first in an increasingly complex planned series of missions, which have now been delayed.
(NASA/Cory Huston)
NASA announced that the next two Artemis missions — Artemis II and III — will be delayed for safety reasons. However, Artemis IV remains on schedule.
Nearby planets can affect how one planet ‘wobbles’ on its spin axis, which contributes to seasons.
Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library via Getty Images
You might hate winter, but at least you know what to expect every year. Other planets have wobbly axes that lead to wild, unpredictable seasons.
Geoffrey Wyatt
In 2024 we will see meteor showers, Saturn disappearing behind the Moon, and – if we’re lucky – a comet bright enough to see with the naked eye.
Photograph: Nasa (Goddard Space Flight Center)
The Peregrine and Nova-C landers are due to carry out valuable science at two diverse lunar locations.
Nasa
Moons and asteroids will be visited by spacecraft from Earth next year.
NASA isn’t the only space agency with exciting missions to watch for in 2024.
AP Photo/John Raoux
Expect lots of space missions to launch this coming year, with exciting new science to follow.
The Moon, shot from Pakistan during a lunar eclipse.
AP Photo/Fareed Khan
Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing on the Moon made 2023 a big year for lunar exploration, and future years will come with even more discoveries.
The restored image of Earthrise. A high quality black and white image was coloured using hues from the original colour photos.
Image Credit: NASA, Apollo 8 Crew, Bill Anders; Processing and License: Jim Weigang
Borman’s professionalism helped the risky Apollo 8 mission become a success.
The stark landscape of the Moon as viewed by the Apollo 12 astronauts on their return to Earth.
NASA / The Planetary Society
Some dark craters on the Moon are never exposed to light − ice could be hiding in these permanently shadowed regions, and India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission marked a big step toward finding it.
Artist’s impression of Theia colliding with the Earth billions of years ago.
Hernán Cañellas
The Moon was formed when it collided with Earth billions of years ago.