Moons(Page 2)

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

Latest in Moons

moon in the 90s

Yes, the moon has an atmosphere—and it’s metal as hell 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 NASA’s VIPER rover won’t be going to the moon after all

Silhouette of moon

Moons

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

a fun moon rises over an italian city

Mars

July’s skies sizzle with the Buck Moon and a meteor shower 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 This is the most cosmically perfect time in history

By Popular Science Team

Why do solar eclipses happen? 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 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 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 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 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 ‘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 ‘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 ‘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 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 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) 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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. 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 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 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 Why astronomers want to put a telescope on the dark side of the moon

An annular eclipse, with an orange solar ring around a black moon.

The best US parks for eclipse chasers to see October’s ‘Ring of Fire’ The best US parks for eclipse chasers to see October’s ‘Ring of Fire’

Iridescent Running Chicken Nebula with glowing gases and stars

31 award-winning astronomy photos: From fiery horizons to whimsical auroras 31 award-winning astronomy photos: From fiery horizons to whimsical auroras

By Annie Colbert

JAXA LEV-2 lunar probe on sand

The newest moon-bound robot will roll around like a tennis ball The newest moon-bound robot will roll around like a tennis ball

Supermoon and full moon closeup

The upcoming ‘blue supermoon’ will be the biggest of the year The upcoming ‘blue supermoon’ will be the biggest of the year

By Rachel Feltman

Yellow spacecraft machinery against a white walled background.

India’s successful moon landing makes lunar history India’s successful moon landing makes lunar history

By Briley Lewis

An illustration of two NASA astronauts in a lunar crater.

Why do all these countries want to go to the moon right now? Why do all these countries want to go to the moon right now?

Two astronauts walking in spacesuits in a desert

How do you keep a spacesuit clean? One answer is antimicrobial fabric. How do you keep a spacesuit clean? One answer is antimicrobial fabric.

A shower of Perseids meteors lights up the sky in 2009 in this NASA time-lapse image.

Two full moons, colorful meteors, and an asteroid will light up August’s sky Two full moons, colorful meteors, and an asteroid will light up August’s sky

By Laura Baisas

NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin walking across Tranquility Base with equipment after the Apollo 11 moon landing. Black and white photo.

Space junk is a precious treasure trove to some archaeologists Space junk is a precious treasure trove to some archaeologists

three electric vehicles for nasa parked in a row

Check out NASA’s fun new electric vans Check out NASA’s fun new electric vans

By Harry Guinness

Three quadruped robots standing on rocky terrain

Four-legged dog robots could one day explore the moon Four-legged dog robots could one day explore the moon

VIPER moon rover coming down a ramp during a test at the NASA Ames Research Center

NASA’s quirky new lunar rover will be the first to cruise the moon’s south pole NASA’s quirky new lunar rover will be the first to cruise the moon’s south pole

Uranus captured by Voyager 2 in true color and false color. Uranus got its name from Greek mythology.

Uranus got its name from a very serious authority Uranus got its name from a very serious authority

By Briley Lewis

A Southwest Research Institute scientist named Norm Pelletier is wearing all white protective gear as he prepares the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) for delivery and integration onto the European Space Agency’s JUICE spacecraft. As part of a 10-instrument payload to study Jupiter and its large moons, UVS will measure ultraviolet spectra that scientists will use to study the composition and structure of the atmospheres of these bodies and how they interact with Jupiter’s massive magnetosphere.

A toaster-sized NASA instrument captured a UV scene of the Milky Way A toaster-sized NASA instrument captured a UV scene of the Milky Way

By Laura Baisas

A full moon known as the Buck Moon is seen as a deer grazes outside the village of Taarbaek, Denmark on July 14, 2022.

July’s skies heat up with the Buck Moon, a shimmery Venus, and more July’s skies heat up with the Buck Moon, a shimmery Venus, and more

By Laura Baisas

Europa Clipper Propulsion Module

How to get your name engraved on a NASA spacecraft bound for Europa How to get your name engraved on a NASA spacecraft bound for Europa

A full moon rises with clouds below. June's Strawberry Moon peaks on June 3.

A Strawberry Moon, solstice, and meteor shower will dance across the skies this June A Strawberry Moon, solstice, and meteor shower will dance across the skies this June

By Laura Baisas

Concept art of NASA EELS snake robot on icy surface of Saturn's moon, Enceladus

NASA hopes its snake robot can search for alien life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus NASA hopes its snake robot can search for alien life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus

A NASA image of the planet Uranus with six of its 27 known moons, Ariel, Puck, Miranda, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, labeled.

Hidden oceans could be lurking deep within Uranus’ moons Hidden oceans could be lurking deep within Uranus’ moons

By Laura Baisas