A new tool to detect hidden layers of the surface of the far side of the Moon could provide vital information about what lies beneath and how Earth’s satellite evolved.
A popular delicacy eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival is the mooncake.
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The Moon Festival, rooted in China’s long history and rich cultural traditions, will be celebrated on Sept. 21. In China, though, the festival is a three-day public holiday.
Eugene Cernan on the Moon, December 13, 1972, during the Apollo 17 mission, the last manned flight to the Earth’s natural satellite.
NASA
Several current programs aim at sending humans back to the Moon. What would be the purpose, and what are the real prospects?
A photo taken from the International Space Station in 2014 shows the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft on the left and the unpiloted ISS Progress 57 cargo craft. Six years later, private players have joined the space race.
Picryl
Over the coming decade, the arrival of constellations of small satellites will reshape the space industry. It constitutes a paradigm shift, particularly in terms of data gathering and processing.
Assembly of the Chang’e 5 orbiter-return capsule.
SHI Xiaodan/wikipedia
Episode 3 of the To the moon and beyond podcast takes a look at who some of the key players are in the 21st century space race and what they are competing for.
The far side looks a lot like the near side.
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
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.
Artist’s concept of Beresheet on the lunar surface.
Oshratsl / Wikimedia Commons
Can China build a lunar base? Absolutely. Can human beings survive on the Moon and other planets for the long term? The answer to that is less clear.
Scale models of rockets at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s booth at the International Astronautical Congress.
FOCKE STRANGMANN/EPA
China just became the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon. It’s a technological achievement and another sign of China’s capabilities and ambitions in space.
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.
Rocket Lab successfully launched its Electron rocket from the company’s complex on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand.
Rocket Lab
There are plenty of astronomical things to watch out for this year beyond this week’s lunar eclipse, including new Moon landings and a space station falling back to Earth.
Who’s rushing? The Chinese Long March 5 rocket lifts off.
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