Moons (Page 2)

From icy Europa to supermoons, here is the latest in lunar science.

Latest in Moons

an illustration of the planet saturn as seen from one of its many moons two other smaller moons are in the distance

Which planet has the most moons? Saturn dethrones Jupiter.

By Laura Baisas

Two astronauts holding plushies inside ISS

NASA wants your help designing its Artemis II mascot

a full moon with a red hue

How to see the upcoming ‘blood moon’ total lunar eclipse

a lunar lander on the surface of the moon

New evidence for water lurking under the moon’s poles

Sunrise on moon taken by Blue Ghost lunar lander

NASA uses GPS on the moon for the first time

a 'blood moon' with a reddish color

March skygazing: A ‘celestial smiley face,’ a blood moon, and more

illustration of rockets and satellites circling moon

Six weeks, three moon landers: The era of private space exploration is here

By Mack DeGeurin

An artist’s concept of the Gateway space station in a polar orbit around the moon

Gateway: The 21st-century moonshot mission

By Sarah Scoles/Undark

Mars rover prototype in simulated Martian environment with alloy wheels

NASA teases bendable titanium wheels on future Mars rovers

Concept art of Artemis astronauts in lunar crater with lunar rover

NASA is calibrating new clocks so people can live on the moon

NASA needs your help designing a gurney for the moon

Concept art depicting Starship HLS on lunar surface with Earth in background

New concept art shows how SpaceX’s Starship will transport Artemis III astronauts to the moon

Phobos passing across Sun as seen by Perseverance rover on Mars

Googly-eyed potato eclipse filmed by NASA’s Perseverance rover

Chinese lunar spacesuit

China debuts its moon mission spacesuits

Meteorite impacts and volcanic eruption producing glass beads on the Moon.

Volcanoes may have existed on the moon far more recently than we thought

September stargazing: A second supermoon and partial lunar eclipse

By Laura Baisas

south pole of the moon

The moon was once covered in an ocean of magma: new data supports theory

Astronomy: the corona of the sun, viewed during a total solar eclipse. Process print after a photograph, 1871.

‘The sun has been eaten’: A brief history of solar eclipses

By Briley Lewis

a red aurora along with the stars of the milky way over mountains

19 magnificent images from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year shortlist

By Popular Science Team

moon in the 90s

Yes, the moon has an atmosphere—and it’s metal as hell

NASA VIPER Rover

NASA’s VIPER rover won’t be going to the moon after all

Silhouette of moon

There really are moon lava tunnels—and humans may live in them one day

a fun moon rises over an italian city

July’s skies sizzle with the Buck Moon and a meteor shower

By Laura Baisas

3D printed Lego moon brick made from meteorite dust against space background

Future lunar bases could be built with LEGO moon bricks

Concept art of lunar base with floating train path alongside astronauts

Wild NASA proposal envisions magnetic hover trains on the moon

A Long March 5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-6 mission lunar probe, lifts off as it rains at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China's Hainan Province on May 3, 2024.

China is en route to collect first-ever samples from the far side of the moon

Moon photograph from Artemis 1

China compiled the most detailed moon atlas ever mapped

an artist's illustration of a lava lake on one of jupiter's moons. it is primarily black as the magma has cooled with orange lava encircling it

Smooth lava lake on Jupiter’s moon sizzles in NASA aerial animations

By Laura Baisas

Close-up photos of ReachBot.

Daddy long-legs-inspired robot could one day squirm through Martian caves

By Mack DeGeurin

NASA wants to measure moonquakes with laser-powered fiber optic cables

Toyota concept art for lunar RV

Japan and NASA plan a historic lunar RV roadtrip together

NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle concept art

It’s on! Three finalists will design a lunar rover for Artemis

Buzz Aldrin on the moon next to American flag.

NASA is designing a time zone just for the moon

a full moon with some clouds obscuring it

April skygazing: A total solar eclipse, a meteor shower, and the Pink Moon

By Laura Baisas

Image taken of JAXA SLIM lunar lander on moon upside down

Japan’s SLIM moon lander survives a second brutal lunar night

A man uses a tinted glass to watch as the moon passes infront of the Earth's star marking a total eclipse, the only one this year, in Vigo, northwestern Spain on March 20, 2015.

This is the most cosmically perfect time in history

By Popular Science Team

Why do solar eclipses happen?

By Christopher Palma/The Conversation

The full moon rises behind the Castel del Monte in Andria, Italy on March 7, 2023. March's full moon is also called the worm moon.

March’s skies shine with the worm moon, a bright Mercury, and penumbral lunar eclipse

By Laura Baisas

Odie the lunar lander is not dead yet

Odie the lunar lander is not dead yet

The discovery image of the new Uranian moon S/2023 U1 using the Magellan telescope. Uranus is just off the field of view in the upper left, as seen by the increased scattered light. S/2023 U1 is the faint point of light in the center of the image with the arrow pointing to it. The trails are from background stars.

Astronomers discover new moons orbiting Uranus and Neptune

By Laura Baisas

Image taken of JAXA SLIM lunar lander on moon upside down

SLIM lives! Japan’s upside-down lander is online after a brutal lunar night

Odysseus passes over the near side of the moon. The photo was taken while the spacecraft was orbiting the moon.

‘Odie’ makes space history with successful moon landing

By Laura Baisas

The planet Earth as seen from space, aboard the Odysseus spacecraft.

‘Odie’ snaps its first images of Earth on its way to the moon

By Laura Baisas

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida a

‘Odie’ is en route for its potentially historic moon landing

By Laura Baisas

Phobos creating partial solar eclipse on Mars, image taken by Perseverance rover

A Martian solar eclipse turns the sun into a giant googly eye

SLIM lunar lander final moon photo

This may be SLIM’s farewell transmission from the moon

The full moon rises, with clouds below and behind it.

The moon is shrinking (very slowly)

By Laura Baisas

Image taken of JAXA SLIM lunar lander on moon upside down

Japan’s SLIM lunar lander stuck the landing—upside down

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter concept art above moon

NASA bounced a laser off a cookie-sized device on the moon

JAXA lunar lander robots, LEV-1 and LEV-2

Japan makes history with its first uncrewed moon landing

Smoke billows out of two engines as United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur, lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41d at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 8, 2024. The new rocket is carrying Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander.

Peregrine lunar lander experiences ‘critical loss of propellant’ following successful launch

By Laura Baisas

A reddish moon on a black background, dotted with several gray marks that are volcanoes. Jupiter's moon Io is one of Jupiter’s several moons. This image was taken on December 30, 2023 during the Juno spacecraft’s flyby of this volcanic Jupiterian moon.

See the most volcanic world in our solar system in new NASA images

By Laura Baisas

A 2010 image captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows water from the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus spraying from huge fissures out into space. The spacecraft sampled icy particles and scientists are continuing to make new discoveries from the data.

More evidence for key ingredients to life detected on Saturn’s moon Enceladus

By Laura Baisas

Apollo 16 lunar landing mission commander John W. Young leaps from the lunar surface as he salutes the United States flag. The flag is located at the Descartes landing site during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity.

Why scientists think it’s time to declare a new lunar epoch

By Laura Baisas

the surface of the moon revealing beautiful craters

Here’s what a billion years does to glass on the moon

Three moons and Jupiter, plus the NASA probe Juno.

The Juno spacecraft spotted evidence of a salty ocean on Jupiter’s biggest moon

By Briley Lewis

Man holding HULC lunar camera in rocky outdoor environment

A sneak peek at the lunar camera destined for the Artemis missions

NASA astronaut Harrison Schmitt is standing on the moon’s surface next to a large split lunar boulder, with a roving vehicle on the other side of the boulder.

The moon is 40 million years older than we thought, according to crystals collected by Apollo astronauts

By Laura Baisas

Pale craters on the moon's lunar surface, with dark shadows below.

This private lander could be the first US machine on the moon this century

The planet Earth, as seen from the DSCOVR satellite. Earth appears as a bright blue dot against the darkness of space, with the shadow of an annular solar eclipse over much of North America.

What the ‘Ring of Fire’ eclipse looked like to a satellite nearly 1 million miles from Earth

By Laura Baisas

An orange ring around the dark moon eclipsing the sun.

We can predict solar eclipses to the second. Here’s how.

Close up of Axiom Space Prada lunar spacesuit glove

Moon-bound Artemis III spacesuits have some functional luxury sewn in

Purple, blue, and white meteors fall at night during October stargazing

A ‘ring of fire’ eclipse and Hunter’s Moon will bring lunar drama to October’s skies

By Laura Baisas

Rendering of Firefly Space's Blue Ghost lunar lander on moon surface

Why astronomers want to put a telescope on the dark side of the moon