On a bleak stretch of the Colorado Desert in Southern California, a compact four-wheeled rover recently trundled about 16 miles (26 kilometers) with minimal intervention from the team of engineers trailing it. Called ERNEST (Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain), this prototype is being used by NASA to advance both robotic autonomy and the […]
Become an official part of International Observe the Moon Night by registering to host a community event or signing up to observe on your own.
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This image shows nighttime temperatures at the Moon’s north pole as measured by the Diviner instrument on board NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft.
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The Moon and Venus, center, are seen in conjunction above the Washington Monument, Monday, May 18, 2026, as viewed from the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington. The Moon and Venus look close together because they line up from our point of view on Earth. In reality, they are separated by millions of […]
In this bonus episode, go behind the scenes of key moments from Artemis II with NASA experts who made them possible. Engineers who launched the rocket describe the hours-long process that led to a successful liftoff. The leader of the closeout crew recalls his sendoff message as the astronauts were sealed inside their spacecraft. And the Artemis II lunar science lead—aka “Science Lady” in some…
In this photo taken on April 6, 2026, a portion of the Moon’s far side is seen along the terminator—the boundary between lunar day and night—where low-angle sunlight casts long shadows across the surface. A section of Orientale Basin is visible along the upper right portion of the lunar disk, its structure subtly revealed under […]
When it is solicited, C.6 Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation (DALI) supports the advanced development of instruments that show promise for use in future lunar missions including NASA’s Artemis Program, lunar orbiters, lunar landers, and commercial ventures. The goal of the DALI program is to develop and demonstrate science instruments for lunar missions to […]
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Fresh off their return to Earth, the Artemis II astronauts will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 16, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss their historic mission around the Moon. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, […]
The first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century are back on Earth after a record-setting mission aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down at 5:07 p.m. PDT Friday off the coast […]
Seen during Artemis II’s lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, the Moon and Earth align in the same frame, each partially illuminated by the Sun. The Moon’s surface appears in sharp detail in the foreground, while Earth sits much farther away, smaller and softly lit in the background. A faint reflection in the spacecraft window […]
Twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are actively supporting real-time mission operations in lunar orbit as part of the agency’s Artemis II mission, helping ensure astronaut safety and mission success as the crew prepares to return to Earth Friday, April 10. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA […]
The first flyby images of the Moon captured by NASA’s Artemis II astronauts during their historic test flight reveal some regions no human has seen, including a rare in-space solar eclipse. Released Tuesday, astronauts captured the images April 6 during the mission’s seven-hour flyby of the lunar far side, showing humanity’s return to the Moon’s […]
The Artemis II crew captured this view of Earth setting on April 6, 2026, as they flew around the Moon. As the astronauts flew over the Moon’s far side, the crew photographed and described terrain features including impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface cracks and ridges formed as the Moon slowly evolved over time. […]
The astronauts aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft captured this photo of the Moon’s near side on April 4, 2026. The image features dark patches at center and right; these are ancient lava flows, which are unique to this side of the Moon. The Artemis II astronauts – astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch of […]
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A guide to the Artemis II Lunar Targeting Plan (the astronauts' Moon observing assignment).
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NASA’s first Artemis II science officers—Kelsey Young, Trevor Graff, and Angela Garcia—are pioneering a new era of mission operations by integrating advanced lunar science directly into Mission Control. Their work will shape how future Artemis crews observe, analyze, and deepen our understanding of the Moon.
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Liftoff! NASA’s Artemis II mission launched on April 1, 2026, carrying four Moonbound astronauts. After an approximately 10-day mission, Artemis II ends with a splash. Lili Villarreal, the recovery and landing director for Artemis II, leads the team that will bring home the astronauts and their spacecraft. She describes the recovery playbook, which includes many contingency plans, and the…
You and your telescope can join a global network of amateur astronomers documenting meteors hitting the moon.
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NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines of Houston, $180.4 million to deliver NASA-funded science and technology to the lunar surface as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis program. This lunar delivery, which includes seven payloads — five of them NASA’s — is expected to increase understanding of the chemical composition […]
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NASA has selected 10 participating scientists to help shape a science plan for astronauts to complete on the lunar surface under the Artemis program – including deploying scientific instruments, making critical observations of the landing site, and collecting Moon rocks. “Congratulations to the scientists selected to participate in this important Artemis lunar surface science team,” […]
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On March 18, 2026, students, staff, and members of NASA’s Langley Research Center gathered at Mary W. Jackson Elementary School in Hampton to celebrate the dedication of a remarkable addition to the campus – an Artemis Moon Tree. Although formally dedicated on this day, the loblolly pine had already taken root months earlier, having been […]
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Three Moon rocks are on display during a March 24, 2026, event where NASA announced a series of transformative agencywide initiatives designed to achieve the National Space Policy and advance American leadership in space. NASA leadership provided updates on mission priorities, including sending the first astronauts to the lunar surface in more than 50 years, establishing […]
NASA is joining international partners to hunt for ice on the Moon in support of future human exploration. The agency is providing a water-detecting instrument, the Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS), to the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).
Early morning sunlight illuminates the western wall of this unnamed crater, leaving deep shadows on the ground and in the interior. The image was taken on August 30, 2023, by LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera). LROC is a system of three cameras and one of the seven instruments aboard NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) mission, […]
C.12 Foundational Artificial Intelligence for the Moon and Mars (FAIMM) is intended to enable individual researchers to participate as members of teams who are designing science and exploration applications for large, general artificial intelligence models known as Foundation Models for the Moon and Mars. This blog post announces: 1) corrections to the text of C.12 […]
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The Moon appears red during a total lunar eclipse over New Orleans, home of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, on March 3, 2026. This “blood moon” occurs during a total lunar eclipse, as Earth lines up between the Moon and the Sun. When this happens, the only light that reaches the Moon’s surface is from the edges […]
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Read this story in English here. A fin de lograr el objetivo nacional de llevar astronautas estadounidenses a la superficie de la Luna y mantener la superioridad de Estados Unidos en exploración y descubrimientos, la NASA anunció el 27 de febrero que aumentará la frecuencia de sus misiones con el programa Artemis, estandarizará la configuración del […]
Lee esta historia en español aquí. To achieve the national goal of landing American astronauts on the surface of the Moon and maintaining U.S. superiority in exploration and discovery, NASA announced Feb. 27 it is increasing its cadence of missions under the Artemis program, standardizing the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket configuration, and adding a new […]
Recommended videos for use at International Observe the Moon Night events and beyond, originally curated for 2026 activities.
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Catch up on lunar news from 2026 with this shortlist of science and exploration highlights, curated by the International Observe the Moon Night team.
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