Moon Archives

Three astronauts from three space agencies are at work looking for interesting rocks at the rim of a volcanic crater in Lanzarote, Spain. From left to right, NASA astronaut candidate Jessica Wittner, Takuya Onishi from Japan’s space agency JAXA and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet document samples during a simulated expedition on another planetary body.

Analog Studies, Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Away Team Practice By ESA’s Geology Course PANGEA (Planetary ANalogue Geological and Astrobiological Exercise for Astronauts)

by Keith CowingOctober 8, 2023July 30, 2025

Three astronauts from three space agencies are at work looking for interesting rocks at the rim of a volcanic crater in Lanzarote, Spain. NASA astronaut candidate Jessica Wittner, Takuya Onishi […]

Two European astronauts are following the traces of a treasure trove of rare, Moon-like crystals in a Norwegian fjord as part of the PANGAEA geology training course. -- ESA

Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Moon, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

ESA Astronauts Practice Lunar Away Team Missions In Norway

by Keith CowingJuly 10, 2023June 12, 2025

Two European astronauts are following the traces of a treasure trove of rare, Moon-like crystals in a Norwegian fjord as part of the PANGAEA geology training course.

Figure. 1. Photograph and composition of lunar hydrous mineral ULM-1. (A) Chang’e-5 soil samples. (B) Photo of ULM-1 single crystal mounted on the top of a cactus thorn. (C) Energydispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) spectrum, inset: Enlarged electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) spectra show the presence of trace elements. (D) Raman spectrum of ULM-1. (E) Infrared spectrum of ULM-1. -- astro-ph.EP

Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Moon, Status Report

Discovery Of A New Lunar Mineral Rich In Water And Ammonium In Lunar Soils Returned By Chang’e-5 mission

by Keith CowingJuly 8, 2023July 8, 2023

The origin and distribution of lunar water are among the most important issues in understanding the earth-moon system. After more than half a century of laboratory research and remote detection, […]

Using Tricorders During Away Team practice

Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Away Team Training: Turning Astronauts Into Planetary Explorers

by Keith CowingFebruary 3, 2023June 12, 2025

ESA’s geology training course PANGAEA has come of age with the publication of a paper that describes the quest for designing the best possible geology training for the next astronauts […]

Analog Studies, Moon, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Agriculture

NASA Space Biology Research Funding Opportunity: Exposure To Lunar Regolith Simulant

by Keith CowingJanuary 14, 2023January 14, 2023

NASA Space Biology is soliciting proposals for ground-based plant or animal studies (and/or their associated microbes) that will characterize the responses of these organisms to conditions that recapitulate the stressors […]

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Moon, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Away Team Tricorder Tech: Draper Multi-Environment Navigation (DMEN)

by Keith CowingOctober 28, 2022October 28, 2022

NASA astronauts tried out their moon exploration gear recently in the Arizona desert.

Citizen Science / Open Science, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science

Australian National University To Support Aussie Start-up In Growing Plants On The Moon

by Keith CowingOctober 7, 2022February 17, 2023

The Australian National University (ANU) will lend its unique expertise in plant biology to an ambitious mission led by Australian space start-up Lunaria One that aims to grow plants on […]

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Moon, Press Release

OWL-Moon: Very high Resolution Spectropolarimetric Interferometry And Imaging From The Moon: Exoplanets To Cosmology

by Keith CowingSeptember 13, 2022September 13, 2022

We outline a concept for OWL-Moon, a 50-100m aperture telescope located on the surface of the Moon, to address three major areas in astronomy, namely the detection of biosignatures on […]

Astrochemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

A Tiny, High-Powered Laser To Find Water On The Moon

by Keith CowingAugust 25, 2022

Finding water on the Moon could be easier with a Goddard technology that uses an effect called quantum tunneling to generate a high-powered terahertz laser, filling a gap in existing […]

Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Citizen Science / Open Science, Moon, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science

The Next Generation Of Moon Tree Seeds Will Fly On Artemis I

by Keith CowingAugust 24, 2022February 17, 2023

In a nod to the legacy of Apollo 14, and a celebration of the future of space exploration, NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Gen STEM project and the USDA […]

Moon

Away Team Practice By ESA’s Geology Course PANGEA (Planetary ANalogue Geological and Astrobiological Exercise for Astronauts)

ESA Astronauts Practice Lunar Away Team Missions In Norway

Discovery Of A New Lunar Mineral Rich In Water And Ammonium In Lunar Soils Returned By Chang’e-5 mission

Away Team Training: Turning Astronauts Into Planetary Explorers

NASA Space Biology Research Funding Opportunity: Exposure To Lunar Regolith Simulant

Away Team Tricorder Tech: Draper Multi-Environment Navigation (DMEN)

Australian National University To Support Aussie Start-up In Growing Plants On The Moon

OWL-Moon: Very high Resolution Spectropolarimetric Interferometry And Imaging From The Moon: Exoplanets To Cosmology

A Tiny, High-Powered Laser To Find Water On The Moon

The Next Generation Of Moon Tree Seeds Will Fly On Artemis I

NASA Establishes Mars Forward Operational Risk and Contamination Evaluation (M-FORCE) Tiger Team to Shape Mars Planetary Protection Protocols

Opportunity to Contribute to NASA DARES Community White Paper on Phototrophic Biosignatures

The Search For Life Elsewhere: Avoiding Hype and Fostering Public Understanding

Panchromatic Spectra of Nearby Low-mass and Sun-like Stars with Directly Imageable Habitable Zones

Alfred: A Flexible, User-Friendly Python Package for Exoplanet Confirmation