NASA has awarded Firefly Aerospace of Cedar Park, Texas, $176.7 million to deliver two rovers and three scientific instruments to the lunar surface as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign to explore more of the Moon than ever before. This delivery is the first time NASA will use […]
Category: Earth’s Moon
NASA Selects Instruments for Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicle
NASA has selected three instruments to travel to the Moon, with two planned for integration onto an LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) and one for a future orbital opportunity. The LTV is part of NASA’s efforts to explore the lunar surface as part of the Artemis campaign and is the first crew-driven vehicle to operate on […]
NASA Tech to Use Moonlight to Enhance Measurements from Space
NASA will soon launch a one-of-a-kind instrument, called Arcstone, to improve the quality of data from Earth-viewing sensors in orbit. In this technology demonstration, the mission will measure sunlight reflected from the Moon— a technique called lunar calibration. Such measurements of lunar spectral reflectance can ultimately be used to set a high-accuracy, universal standard for […]
NASA Tech to Use Moonlight to Enhance Measurements from Space
NASA will soon launch a one-of-a-kind instrument, called Arcstone, to improve the quality of data from Earth-viewing sensors in orbit. In this technology demonstration, the mission will measure sunlight reflected from the Moon— a technique called lunar calibration. Such measurements of lunar spectral reflectance can ultimately be used to set a high-accuracy, universal standard for […]
NASA’s LRO Views ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 2 Moon Lander Impact Site
On June 11, NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) captured photos of the site where the ispace Mission 2 SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon (RESILIENCE) lunar lander experienced a hard landing on June 5, 2025, UTC. RESILIENCE was launched on Jan. 15 on a privately funded spacecraft. LRO’s right Narrow Angle Camera (one in a suite […]
Moon and Flag at NASA Michoud
Just after sunrise, the waning gibbous moon sets just behind a waving United States flag on March 19, 2025, in this image from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The waning gibbous moon phase comes after the full moon. As the Moon begins its journey back toward the Sun, the opposite side of the […]
NASA’s LRO Views Japan’s RESILENCE Lunar Lander Landing Area
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) imaged the landing area of the ispace SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon Mission 2 RESILIENCE lunar lander which is slated to land on the surface of the Moon no earlier than June 5, 2025 (UTC). This view of the primary landing area is 3.13 miles (5,040 meters) wide and north is up. […]
NASA Studies Reveal Hidden Secrets About Interiors of Moon, Vesta
Analyzing gravity data collected by spacecraft orbiting other worlds reveals groundbreaking insights about planetary structures without having to land on the surface. Although the Moon and the asteroid Vesta are very different, two NASA studies use the same technique to reveal new details about the interiors of both. In the lunar study, published May 14 […]
NASA Goes Live on Twitch: Design Artemis II Moon Mascot
NASA will host a live Twitch event to highlight the ongoing Moon Mascot Challenge, which invites the public to design a zero gravity indicator for the agency’s Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon. Viewers will have the opportunity to provide real-time input to an artist who will create an example of a zero […]
NASA Goes Live on Twitch: Design Artemis II Moon Mascot
NASA will host a live Twitch event to highlight the ongoing Moon Mascot Challenge, which invites the public to design a zero gravity indicator for the agency’s Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon. Viewers will have the opportunity to provide real-time input to an artist who will create an example of a zero […]