The Earth–Moon system as a research area encompasses the coupled dynamical, geophysical, geochemical, and space-environment interactions between Earth and its natural satellite, studied using observational, theoretical, and numerical methods. It includes investigations of orbital and rotational dynamics, tidal dissipation, angular momentum exchange, and long-term evolution of the Earth–Moon distance and obliquity. Research targets internal structure and thermal histories inferred from gravity, seismology, and magnetic data; surface and exospheric processes; impact cratering; and volatile and isotopic compositions. The field also examines Earth–Moon space weather, plasma and magnetospheric interactions, and implications for planetary system formation, comparative planetology, and future exploration architectures.
A private U.S. spacecraft bound for the moon has captured stunning images of Earth one week into its flight.
Space Exploration
Jan 24, 2025
0
163
A research team from the University of Göttingen and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) has discovered another piece in the puzzle of the formation of the moon and water on Earth. The prevailing theory ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 16, 2025
0
196
In a two-for-one moonshot, SpaceX launched a pair of lunar landers Wednesday for U.S. and Japanese companies looking to jumpstart business on Earth's dusty sidekick.
Space Exploration
Jan 16, 2025
1
47
A tiny asteroid loitering in a near-Earth orbit for a few months last year may have an intriguing origin on our moon. Its characteristics led scientists to ask: is it a chip off the old lunar block, making a pass by Earth ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 15, 2025
0
109
New observational data from the James Webb Space Telescope and simulation models have confirmed a new type of planet unlike anything found in the solar system. This provides another piece of the puzzle describing how planets ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 15, 2025
5
106
Getting back to the moon is the primary goal of NASA's Artemis program, but what do we do once we get there? That is the challenge tackled by a group of students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who wrote a ...
Space Exploration
Jan 2, 2025
0
69
A physicist, a chemist and a mathematician walk into a bar. It sounds like the start of a bad joke, but in my case, it was the start of an idea that could reshape how scientists think about the history of the moon.
Planetary Sciences
Dec 21, 2024
0
80
A team of international scientists has unveiled groundbreaking research on the origins of lunar water, offering insights that could reshape our understanding of the Earth-moon system and the broader solar system. Published ...
Space Exploration
Dec 19, 2024
0
89
After its formation, the moon may have been the scene of such immense volcanic activity that its entire crust melted several times and was completely churned through. At that time, the moon orbited significantly closer to ...
Planetary Sciences
Dec 18, 2024
3
2930
The Earth and moon have been locked in a gravitational dance for billions of years. Each day, as the Earth turns, the moon tugs upon the oceans of the world, causing the rise and fall of tides. As a result, the Earth's day ...
Planetary Sciences
Dec 12, 2024
0
125
