Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

A banner signed by NASA employees and contractors outside Launch Complex 39B, where NASA’s Artemis II rocket is visible in the background. NASA/Joel Kowsky

February 3, 2026

NASA’s Artemis II plans to send a crew around the Moon to test equipment and lay the groundwork for a future landing

Margaret Landis, Arizona State University

Several robotic spacecraft orbiting the Moon can take detailed pictures of its surface, so why send people around the Moon? A planetary geologist explains the benefits.

The stark landscape of the Moon as viewed by the Apollo 12 astronauts on their return to Earth. NASA / The Planetary Society

November 15, 2023

Scientists suspect there’s ice hiding on the Moon, and a host of missions from the US and beyond are searching for it

Paul Hayne, University of Colorado Boulder

Some dark craters on the Moon are never exposed to light − ice could be hiding in these permanently shadowed regions, and India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission marked a big step toward finding it.

All moons and planets are constantly under barrage from asteroids and comets. NASA via WikimediaCommons

March 4, 2022

A rocket crashes into the Moon – the accidental experiment will shed light on the physics of impacts in space

Paul Hayne, University of Colorado Boulder

Across the solar system, asteroids and comets crash into moons and planets every day. The rocket collision will provide researchers with important data on how these collisions work.

A super blue blood moon is seen from Svalbard, Norway earlier this year. EPA-EFE/Heiko Junge

July 26, 2018

A guide to the longest full eclipse of the moon this century, and more

Daniel Cunnama, South African Astronomical Observatory

The longest lunar eclipse this century, and other special features such as Mars looking spectacular will be seen.

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