New Moon Images Show Astronaut Tracks

Lunar Orbiter 2 crashed on dark side of the moon

(NEWSER) - NASA may have found a lost spaceship on the dark side of the moon. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a ship designed to map the surface of the moon, has spotted a butterfly-shaped pattern that Fox News speculates might be the probe’s predecessor, the Lunar Orbiter 2. The craft, launched in 1967, sent back a photo of the lunar surface that was then hailed as the “picture of the century” before NASA intentionally crashed the orbiter on the dark side of the moon. More»

Discovery stuns lunar experts

(NEWSER) - Water has been detected in moon rock brought to Earth by Apollo astronauts, reports Space.com. A team used a new super-sensitive technique to discover the water in volcanic glass beads in the rock. The stunning find, detailed in the journal Nature, is forcing scientists to rethink theories about the moon's origin 4.5 billion years ago. More»

Spacecraft will study dust after partner vessel crashes

(NEWSER) - No, they're not angry at the moon—but NASA is preparing two spacecraft for head-on collisions with the lunar South Pole. The idea is that the double impact might uncover ice suspected to be hiding in the moon's poles, Space.com reports. Scientists detected large amounts of hydrogen there on a previous smash-and-learn expedition. More»

Disc with messages of peace lies in moondust

(NEWSER) - A tiny disc carrying messages of peace from world leaders has been lying in a small pouch on the moon since 1969, reports Space.com. Space historian Tahir Rahman's new book We Came In Peace For All Mankind tells the story of how the disc came to be there—and how the Apollo 11 astronauts almost forgot to leave it behind. More»

He gives rare interview ... to Australian accountants

(NEWSER) - Fans of the space program are in for a treat: The normally reticent Neil Armstrong sat down for an hourlong interview about that moon landing of his with, of all outlets, the Certified Practicing Accountants of Australia. Some highlights:

• 50-50: "I thought we had a 90% chance of getting back safely to Earth on that flight but only a 50-50 chance of making a landing on that first attempt. There were so many unknowns ..."
• Close call: When Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the moon's surface in the Eagle, the on-board computer was guiding them toward a rocky, steep area. "Not a good place to land at all," says Armstrong. "I took over manually and flew it like a helicopter out to the west direction, got into a smoother area without so many rocks and found a level area and was able to get it down there safely before we ran out of fuel." There was "something like 20 seconds of fuel left."