Subscribe now

Planned moon landings could pelt orbiting spacecraft with dusty debris

1 June 2023

The large landing vehicles planned for NASA’s upcoming moon missions could throw up large amounts of dust from the lunar surface, posing a possible danger to orbiters


Watch Japan’s ispace attempt moon landing with Hakuto-R lunar lander

25 April 2023

The Hakuto-R lander from Japanese company ispace could become the first craft from a private firm to touch down safely on the surface of the moon – watch it live from 4pm BST


A photograph of ex-NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver

Lori Garver on why NASA is returning to the moon for the wrong reasons

14 September 2022

Ex-NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver helped create the now-booming private space industry. But she says NASA is still too focused on using its moon programme to provide jobs for US workers


Artist Jorge Ma?es Rubio, part of ESA?s future-oriented Advanced Concepts Team (ACT), has designed a place of contemplation to serve a future lunar settlement. It would be built on the sunlit rim of 21-km diameter Shackleton Crater, which is bathed much of the time in sunlight while overlooking a 4.2 km-deep interior mired in perpetual shadow.

Double-shadowed moon craters may be coldest place in the solar system

14 March 2022

The moon has deep craters that sit at such an angle that even reflected sunlight doesn’t touch some areas, making them prime locations for water ice to collect


space junk

We don’t know whose rocket is about to hit the moon – that’s a problem

23 February 2022

An old rocket will slam into the far side of the moon on 4 March and no one is accepting ownership of the space junk – similar objects could pose a safety risk for future crewed lunar missions


Apollo 11 ascent module

Part of the Apollo 11 spacecraft may still be in orbit around the moon

28 July 2021

A discarded part of the Apollo 11 spacecraft that helped return astronauts from the first visit to the lunar surface may still be in orbit around the moon, rather than having crash-landed as once thought


Lunar base

Kilometre-high concrete towers on the moon could power a lunar base

9 March 2021

The moon’s lower gravity makes it practical to build huge towers covered in solar panels, using the lunar soil to create concrete. Such a tower at the moon’s south pole could power a crewed base


moon

The moon had a magnetic field that helped protect Earth's atmosphere

14 October 2020

Some 4 billion years ago, the moon may have had a magnetic field that combined with Earth’s to create a powerful magnetic shield that protected our planet’s atmosphere


False colour image of the South Pole-Aitken Basin

Huge asteroid that hit the moon may be preserved below the surface

7 June 2019

The iron core of an asteroid that crashed into the moon 4 billion years ago to create a huge crater at its south pole may have been found


Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop