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The moon

05 February 2019
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Astronauts on the International Space Station are treated to stunning views, including a crescent moon hanging above the gaseous layers of Earth’s atmosphere. Image credit - NASA's Earth Observatory, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Fifty years after humans first set foot on the moon, Earth’s only permanent natural satellite is back in the news with China’s successful landing on the moon’s as-yet-unexplored far side. This month, Horizon looks at how Europe is contributing to moon research. We hear from the European Space Agency’s director of human and robotic exploration about their plans to send a robot and then humans to the lunar surface in the 2020s, and speak to the scientists trying to fill the holes in our understanding of how the moon was formed. We also hear how we could solve the puzzle of where water on Earth originated by analysing volatile substances from the moon, and take a look at the methods and facilities being developed to protect precious extra-terrestrial samples from human contamination.

The moon's lack of tectonic activity preserves its oldest rocks. Image Credit - ANDY SMITH ASTRONOMY
space | frontier research
25 February 2019

How scientists are piecing together the history of the moon

In the solar system’s early days, a first Earth is thought to have been pulverised by a planet that scientists call Theia. We don’t know what it was made of or where it came from, only that it may have been the size of Mars. The powerful collision destroyed both planets so completely that scientists can only guess what they were like.

New findings suggest that if the moon formed after a giant impact after water had had been received, it should have gotten a share of that water. The question is - where did it go? Image Credit - ANDY SMITH ASTRONOMY
space | frontier research
19 February 2019

The moon’s water: where did it come from – and where did it all go?

Fragments of moon rock brought back from the lunar surface by astronauts on the Apollo space missions are providing new insights about where our planet’s life-giving water came from.

The LUVMI rover will be sent to the moon to inspect its water ice, and chemicals in its crust and atmosphere. Image credit - LUVMI consortium
space
12 February 2019

How to keep lunar samples safe

A lunar rover that can analyse samples in situ and a Europe-wide facility to store extraterrestrial samples will help to protect moon samples from contamination and increase their usability in scientific experiments.

Dr David Parker, the director of human and robotic exploration at ESA, says that the lunar campaign’s ultimate mission would be to see if a permanent human moon base can be established. Image credit - ESA
interview | space
05 February 2019

‘The moon is a history museum and we’ve only visited the gift shop’

Humans have not set foot on the moon since 1972, when the last Apollo mission came back to Earth. That could all change in the coming years, however, as entities like the European Space Agency (ESA) are preparing not just to return, but to build a permanent base on the surface.