NASA has named the astronauts who will fly the next Artemis mission, a test flight in low Earth orbit where Orion will attempt to dock with two lunar lander prototypes.

The post NASA names crew for Artemis 3 mission to test lunar landers appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA’s next mission in its effort to return humans to the moon will be led by an all-male crew. Three of them have extensive experience in space, while the other was a backup on Artemis II.

Experts have been hopeful, but say the agency’s lunar aspirations are largely at the whims of two billionaires, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Almost forgotten now, the mission circled the Earth for 10 days, performing a series of tests with the lunar lander. What it lacked in glory it made up for in technological contributions.

The agency will announce the crew of Artemis III on Tuesday. But will the mission be ready to fly in 2027?

Artemis III is the third in a series of missions that gets humans closer to returning to the surface of the moon.

NASA’s Artemis program has little room for error if it is to land astronauts on the moon by the end of 2028, but Blue Origin could be out of commission for at least a year.

The agency will announce the crew of Artemis III on Tuesday. But will the mission be ready to fly in 2027?

Why does one side of the Moon have a lot of craters, while the other side does not? Stephen LogesBrooksville, Florida When the first photos of the Moon’s farside were obtained, people usually expressed the difference between the back and the front in terms of “more craters on the back.” It might be better toContinue reading "Why does one side of the Moon have a lot of craters, while the other does not?"

The post Why does one side of the Moon have a lot of craters, while the other does not? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

NASA announced new contracts for the rovers and landers that will lay the groundwork for the agency’s proposed $30-billion Moon Base — some of which they plan to launch as soon as this fall — during a May 26 press conference. The announcement offered the most detailed look yet into the Moon Base plan NASAContinue reading "How NASA plans to build a Moon Base"

The post How NASA plans to build a Moon Base appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A disappearing Venus, a planet parade, and the start of summer make June a must-see month for skywatchers. June brings several notable skywatching events, including a close meeting between Venus and Jupiter, a rare occasion when the Moon moves in front of Venus, the arrival of astronomical summer, and the return of favorite deep-sky sights. [...]

Scientists propose that a moon base could act as an isolated first line of biological defense against extraterrestrial samples that might be harmful to Earth's biosphere.

The existence of evidence for Earth’s past equatorial ring, shown by impact craters, raises questions about its loss. Modeling its effects on Earth's rotation presents challenges. However, current findings indicate minor impacts on day length, with significant stability in the Earth-Moon system over 10,000 years.

Day 4 of creation, God made the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, establishing them as luminaries in the heavens. The language of the Bible uses an Earth-observer perspective, meaning that light from celestial bodies was instantly visible. Additionally, I confront naturalistic explanations for celestial origins, proposing a creationist model.

About 63 hours after its launch, Surveyor 1 landed on the Moon on June 2, 1966. The 2,200-pound (998 kilograms) craft touched down inside a 62-mile (100 kilometers) crater north of Flamsteed Crater in Oceanus Procellarum, or the Ocean of Storms. Surveyor 1 took more than 11,000 photos, and measured the Moon’s temperature and theContinue reading "June 2, 1966: Surveyor 1 lands on the Moon"

The post June 2, 1966: Surveyor 1 lands on the Moon appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Blue Moons are known for the folklore surrounding their appearance in the skies. But the real thing has less to do with its color and more with the timing of the year’s Full Moons. The next Blue Moon is May 20, 2027. It will be a seasonal Blue Moon; here’s what that is: There areContinue reading "What is a Blue Moon? When’s the next one?"

The post What is a Blue Moon? When’s the next one? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The phenomenon of a Full Moon arises when our planet, Earth, is precisely sandwiched between the Sun and the Moon. This alignment ensures the entire side of the Moon that faces us gleams under sunlight. Thanks to the Moon’s orbit around Earth, the angle of sunlight hitting the lunar surface and being reflected back toContinue reading "2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases"

The post 2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Space & Beyond • Astronomical Event • Skywatching Alert • Related: Meteor, Fireballs and Comets Tonight, a total lunar eclipse turns the full Moon a deep copper-red — a classic “blood moon”. Despite the dramatic look (and dramatic naming), eclipses are recurrent, measurable, and predictable astronomy events, not omens. This post explains what’s happening, when […]

The post Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight: Blood Moon Timing, Visibility & Why Eclipses Aren’t Omens appeared first on Strange Sounds.

If Earth disappeared instantaneously, the first thing that would not happen is a crash. The Moon is not “hanging” over Earth. It is in constant free fall, moving sideways fast enough that Earth’s gravity bends its path into a closed orbit. The Moon orbits Earth in the prograde direction. It completes one revolution relative to […]

The post If Earth Vanishes What Happens to the Moon? appeared first on Curiosmos.

SpaceX launched the first test flight of its upgraded Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster Friday, with mostly positive results.

The powerful rocket, propelled by 33 methane-fueled main engines, climbed away from SpaceX's Starbase launch facility in South Texas at 5:30 pm CDT (6:30 pm EDT; 22:30 UTC) Friday. Within a few seconds, the 408-foot-tall (124-meter) rocket, the largest ever built, cleared the launch tower and turned onto an eastward heading over the Gulf of Mexico.

Starship splashed down on target in the Indian Ocean a little more than an hour later to conclude the first flight of the latest version of SpaceX's stainless-steel mega-rocket. Starship V3 fared better on its debut than the first flights of Starship V1 and V2 in 2023 and 2025. Both past versions of Starship broke apart during launch on their inaugural flights.

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