Exploration of the Moon

Over billions of years, the surface of the Moon has been bombarded by solar wind, carrying high-energy particles that include a highly coveted resource, helium-3. Although the element is scarce on Earth, it has recently become in demand by several industries, including those working on quantum computing and nuclear fusion reactors.Moon Knight Gives Us HopeHelium-3 has been deemed so precious that one company is willing to go all the way to the Moon to get it. Seattle-based startup Interlune recently announced that it…

We’re rapidly approaching the quarter mark of the 21st century, but instead of being at the brink of a radical transformative stage, such as the futuristic vision akin to Arthur C. Clarke’s Star Child from 2001: A Space Odyssey, we’re still throwing proverbial bones into the sky. China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonSuch is the feeling I get in the wake of three recent Moon missions, in which two spacecraft, Japan’s SLIM and Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus, survived despite falling awkwardly onto the lunar surface,…

Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, is finally setting some ambitious timelines, saying it plans to conduct an uncrewed Moon landing in as little as a year from now, deploying a demonstration version of its Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) cargo lander. This ramps up the space rivalry big time, putting Bezos head-to-head with Musk in a potential lunar showdown.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonJohn Couluris, senior vice president for lunar permanence at Blue Origin, discussed these plans during an…

House and Senate appropriators have released NASA’s final spending bill for the fiscal year 2024, focusing on the Artemis program’s goal of returning astronauts to the Moon. However, there’s still considerable uncertainty surrounding the agency’s plans for bringing back rocky samples from Mars.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonNASA was allocated $24.875 billion for its budget this year, about half a billion less than what the space agency received in 2023 and some $2.31 billion short of what it was hoping to…

Image: Photo: Shutterstock Graphics: Vicky LetaRenowned puzzler Peter Winkler invented the addictive word game, HIPE, with some friends when they were juniors in high school. While it may not have become the overnight success of Wordle, the game did earn Winkler admission to Harvard. According to his book, Mathematical Mind-Benders, he wrote a college admission essay about how his verbal diversion sparked a local craze. Four years later, as a Harvard senior, Winkler overheard an admissions committee member quizzing a…

Nikon is making a camera you can take to space. In partnership with NASA, the company is developing a handheld camera for astronauts to use on the surface of the Moon for the upcoming Artemis missions.Moon Knight Gives Us HopeNASA and Nikon recently signed an agreement to design a camera that can withstand the harsh temperatures of the lunar environment and capture astronauts’ time on the Moon for research purposes (and maybe a few cool selfies too). The camera is scheduled to be ready for use for the Artemis 3 mission,…

Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus landing during its descent towards the lunar surface. Image: Intuitive MachinesIt was a topsy-turvy month in spaceflight, with yet another lunar lander falling over and an upsetting new view showing NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter missing a rotor blade, among other memorable moments. February is the shortest month of the year, but it often packs a punch and feels a helluva lot longer than it should. Such was the case this year, especially in the world of spaceflight and astronomy, which witnessed…

A new photo of Odysseus released by NASA illustrates just how rough the lander’s journey to the Moon has been, shining a light on its spunky resilience against all odds.Moon Knight Gives Us HopeTaken on February 22, the day the lander touched down on the Moon, the photo shows Odysseus, affectionately called “Odie,” with a clearly broken leg on the lunar surface. While the photo might not look all that encouraging, Intuitive Machines explained that a perfect storm of events managed to work in Odie’s favor. Not only did…

After a nail-biting touchdown on the lunar surface that left Odysseus bent over on its side, the lander is ready for its nap. Intuitive Machines is getting ready to power down its lunar lander, with hopes that Odie may wake up once the Sun illuminates its functioning solar array again.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonThe Houston-based company held a press conference on Wednesday to give an update on its IM-1 mission, which landed on the Moon on February 22. The Odysseus lander had some trouble making it to the…

The white arrow at the center of the image points to the Odysseus lunar lander on the surface of the Moon.Image: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State UniversityFollowing a less-than-perfect touchdown, the Odysseus lander has been spotted from lunar orbit while lying on its side on the surface of the Moon. The lunar lander also beamed back its first images from the Moon as it fights to stay alive before it runs out of power.First Full-Color Images From Webb Space TelescopeNASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured images of the…