Moon

Strawberry Moon to hang lowest in decades - here's what makes it special

June's full moon, the last of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere, is also known as the Strawberry Moon. Here's all you need to know

Strawberry Moon 2025: When and where to watch this full moon in India?

This month, skywatchers in India can witness 'the Strawberry Moon 2025', nature's gentle nod to the summer arrival. The best time to watch in India will be on the June 10, 2025 at evening

Flower moon 2025: What to expect from May's micromoon and why it's special

The May full moon or 'Flower Moon' will rise on May 12 at around 12.56 pm EDT, precisely. Here's why this micromoon is special and what it means for skywatchers

Blood moon lunar eclipse on March 13 & 14: Will it be visible from India?

Lunar eclipse 2025: The first lunar eclipse of 2025 will take place on March 13 and 14. The event is likely to last for around 65 minutes, and this event will also feature a "Blood Moon"

A gift that keeps giving: Athena's landing brings humanity closer to Moon

In the very long term, meaning decades down the line, space mining may be a highly profitable venture

Private lander Athena may have fallen over near moon's south pole

A privately owned lunar lander touched down on the moon with a drill, drone and rovers for NASA and other customers Thursday, but quickly ran into trouble and may have fallen over. Intuitive Machines said it was uncertain whether its Athena lander was upright near the moon's south pole standing 15 feet (4.7 meters) tall or lying sideways like its first spacecraft from a year ago. Controllers rushed to turn off some of the lander's equipment to conserve power while trying to determine what went wrong. It was the second moon landing this week by a Texas company under NASA's commercial lunar delivery programme. Sunday's touchdown was a complete success. The company's newest Athena lander dropped out of lunar orbit as planned. The hourlong descent appeared to go well until the final approach when the laser navigation system began acting up. It took a while for Mission Control to confirm touchdown. We're on the surface, reported mission director and co-founder Tim Crain. A few minutes

Chandrayaan-3 data hints at possibilities of ice at more locations on Moon

Ice could be present at more locations right beneath the Moon's surface at the poles than previously thought, a study of data collected by the Chandrayaan-3 mission has suggested. Large, yet highly local, changes in surface temperatures can directly affect the forming of ice, and looking into these ice particles can reveal "different stories about their origin and history", lead author, Durga Prasad Karanam, Faculty, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad told PTI. This can also tell us about how ice accumulated and moved through the Moon's surface over time, which can provide insights into the natural satellite's early geologic processes, he said. The findings are published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment. The Chandrayaan-3 mission, launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from Bengaluru, achieved a soft landing near the Moon's south pole on August 23, 2023. The landing site was named the 'Shiv Shakti Point' three days later on August 26. For

Private lander Blue Ghost nails moon landing with special NASA delivery

A private lunar lander carrying a drill, vacuum and other experiments for NASA touched down on the moon Sunday, the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earth's celestial neighbour ahead of astronaut missions. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome in an impact basin on the moon's northeastern edge of the near side. Confirmation of successful touchdown came from the company's Mission Control outside Austin, Texas, following the action some 225,000 miles (360,000 kilometers) away. You all stuck the landing. We're on the moon, Firefly's Will Coogan, chief engineer for the lander, reported. An upright and stable landing makes Firefly a startup founded a decade ago the first private outfit to put a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or falling over. Even countries have faltered, with only five claiming success: Russia, the US, China, India and Japan. A half hour

Firefly's 'Blue Ghost' mission successfully lands on Moon's surface

Nicknamed 'Ghost Riders in the Sky,' Blue Ghost Mission 1 follows just over a year after the first-ever commercial lunar landing

Private firm launches Athena lander to moon in latest lunar mission rush

A private company launched another lunar lander Wednesday, aiming to get closer to the moon's south pole this time with a drone that will hop into a jet-black crater that never sees the sun. Intuitive Machines' lander, named Athena, caught a lift with SpaceX from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It's taking a fast track to the moon with a landing on March 6 while hoping to avoid the fate of its predecessor, which tipped over at touchdown. Never before have so many spacecraft angled for the moon's surface all at once. Last month, US and Japanese companies shared a rocket and separately launched landers toward Earth's sidekick. Texas-based Firefly Aerospace should get there first this weekend after a big head start. The two US landers are carrying tens of millions of dollars' worth of experiments for NASA as it prepares to return astronauts to the moon. It's an amazing time. There's so much energy, NASA's science mission chief Nicky Fox told The Associated Press a few hours ahead of th

Boeing to lay off about 400 workers on its SLS moon rocket programme

The US aerospace company cited revisions to NASA's Artemis program and cost expectations

Was asteroid 2024 PT5 ejected from moon? Here's what scientists have to say

Asteroid 2024 PT5 was discovered by Nasa's Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). Scientists believe that the asteroid possibly ejected from the Moon after a large impact

ExTeM researchers working on long-term human settlement in Mars and Moon

Researchers at ExTeM, which was established in 2021 under the Institute of Eminence (IoE) scheme at IIT Madras, are advancing technologies for manufacturing activities in space

Humans will soon be able to mine on the Moon; four questions to consider

Now is the time to create the rules and regulations that will protect humanity's shared future in space and ensure the Moon remains a symbol and inspiration for generations to come

Black Moon 2024: What is it and how to watch the rare celestial event?

Great news for all the skygazers! A rare celestial event, the black moon, is set to take place on December 30-31, offering an opportunity for clear views of the cosmos

Chennai-based startup Space Kidz eyes lunar leap with all-women line-up

Space Kidz may become first Indian private firm to crash-land on the moon's surface

October Full Moon Day 2024: Spiritual significance, when and where to watch

A phenomenal celestial event, Hunter Moon, is waiting for all the sky gazers, offering a rare spectacle with this October full moon day as it is closer than any other moon this year

Nasa to launch Europa Clipper mission today, here's all you need to know

The Nasa's latest mission aims to investigate Europa's surface to explore the potential for life beneath the icy crust of Jupiter's moon

Carbon dioxide, hydrogen peroxide detected on Pluto's largest moon 'Charon'

Scientists have detected the gases carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Pluto's largest moon, 'Charon', which they said could help understand how icy bodies originated and evolved in the outer Solar System. Once considered the ninth and last planet of the Solar System, Pluto was demoted to a 'dwarf planet' status in 2006, when members of the International Astronomical Union voted to scientifically define a 'planet' for the first time. According to the resolution passed then, a dwarf planet is one that has not been able to create a clear orbit for itself, free from debris. Pluto's orbit, lying in the Kuiper belt region beyond the planet Neptune, was thought to cross with those of other objects. Charon is the largest of the five known moons of Pluto and has been studied since it was discovered in 1978. Being extremely cold, there's practically no chance for life to exist on Pluto and water, essential for life, is present as ice. The team, led by researchers at the Southwest Resear

Moon's temperature dropped during lockdown due to fewer human activities

Indian scientists revealed that the moon's temperature reduced significantly during the lockdown period on Earth in 2020, underscoring the link between Earth and the Moon