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 "blood moon" will bathe a large swath of the world in red light overnight Thursday during a rare total lunar eclipse.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 13, 2025
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The giant-impact hypothesis posits that billions of years ago a Mars-sized body named Theia collided with the early Earth.
Planetary Sciences
Feb 18, 2025
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Before arriving at the moon, the small satellite mission will use the gravity of the sun, Earth, and moon over several months to gradually line up for capture into lunar orbit.
Space Exploration
Feb 14, 2025
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2
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
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40
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
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122
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
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28
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
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6
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
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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
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47
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
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