Earth's Moon

Artemis

NASA has chosen the first science instruments designed for astronauts to deploy on the surface of the Moon during Artemis III. Once installed near the lunar South Pole, the three instruments will collect valuable scientific data about the lunar environment, the lunar interior, and how to sustain a long-duration human presence on the Moon, which […]

Posted March 26, 2024

People of Goddard

Earth's Moon

People of NASA

Planetary Science

Casey Honniball: Finding Her Space in Lunar Science

Lunar scientist Casey Honniball conducts lunar observations and field work near volcanoes to investigate how astronauts could use instruments during moonwalks.

Posted March 19, 2024

Earth's Moon

Planetary Science Division

Science Mission Directorate

Uncategorized

NASA Awards Grants for Lunar Instrumentation

NASA has awarded five scientists and engineers Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation (DALI) grants to support the development of instruments for potential use in future lunar missions, including the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services and Artemis campaign. The awardees were recognized during NASA’s Technology Development Plan

Posted March 13, 2024

2024 Solar Eclipse

Earth's Moon

Eclipses

Solar Eclipses

Uncategorized

Total Solar Eclipse 2024: The Moon’s Moment in the Sun

How do we know exactly where and when the Moon will cast its shadow? Eclipse prediction depends on understanding the positions and movements of the Moon, Sun, and Earth. Modern maps build on a long human history of eclipse forecasting. And since 2009, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been mapping the Moon in unprecedented detail.

Posted March 11, 2024

Technology

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

Earth's Moon

Game Changing Development Program

Robotics

Space Technology Mission Directorate

NASA’s Network of Small Moon-Bound Rovers Is Ready to Roll

Construction and testing are complete on the CADRE rovers, which will map the lunar surface together as a tech demo to show the promise of multirobot missions. A trio of small rovers that will explore the Moon in sync with one another are rolling toward launch. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California […]

Posted March 7, 2024

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

Earth's Moon

Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA’s LRO Images Intuitive Machine’s Odysseus Lander

On Feb. 22, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, called Odysseus, completed a seven-day journey to lunar orbit and softly landed near crater Malapert A in the South Pole region of the Moon at 6:24 p.m. EST. On Feb. 24, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft passed over the landing site at an altitude of about 56 miles […]

Posted February 26, 2024

General

Ames Research Center

Earth's Moon

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)

VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)

Into the Belly of the Rover: VIPER’s Final Science Instrument Installed

A team of engineers prepares to integrate TRIDENT – short for The Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain – into the belly of NASA’s first robotic Moon rover, VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover). TRIDENT, designed and developed by engineers at Honeybee Robotics in Altadena, California, is the fourth and final science instr

Posted February 13, 2024

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

Artemis

Earth's Moon

Goddard Space Flight Center

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

NASA to Study Effects of Radio Noise on Lunar Science

In February 2024, Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission will launch to the Moon’s South Polar region, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, initiative. This mission is part of CLPS’ ongoing effort to bring down the cost for science investigations and technology demonstrations going to the Moon and to make them more routine […]

Posted February 1, 2024

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Earth's Moon

Goddard Space Flight Center

The Solar System

NASA’s LRO Spots Japan’s Moon Lander

On Jan. 19, 2024, at 10:20 a.m. EST, the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed on the lunar surface. Five days later, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft passed over the landing site and photographed SLIM. LRO acquired the image at an altitude of about 50 miles (80 km). […]

Posted January 26, 2024

Earth's Moon

Artemis 3

Shrinking Moon Causing Moonquakes and Faults Near Lunar South Pole

As NASA continues to make progress toward sending astronauts to the lunar South Pole region with its Artemis campaign, data from a NASA-funded study is helping scientists better understand this strategic part of the Moon.

Posted January 25, 2024