Moon Archives - SpaceNews

A panorama returned by the Chang'e-5 lander, showing robotic sampling arm and scoop marks in lunar regolith.

Civil

China to lend Chang’e-5 moon samples to U.S. universities

by Andrew Jones April 26, 2025April 26, 2025

China approved international requests, including from two U.S. universities, to borrow small portions of moon samples collected by its Chang’e-5 mission.

Artistic render of China's Chang'e-8 lunar lander on the moon's surface, featuring a gold-colored lander with extended solar panels under a starry lunar sky, illuminated by the Sun.

Civil

China selects international payloads for Chang’e-8 lunar south pole mission

by Andrew Jones April 25, 2025April 25, 2025

GRAIL

DARPA requests proposals for water-prospecting lunar orbiter

by Jeff Foust April 21, 2025

Image of the moon's far side with Earth in the distant background, taken from lunar orbit. The lunar surface appears gray and cratered, while Earth is shown as a small blue-and-white sphere against the blackness of space.

Civil

Mission team details complex rescue of Chinese lunar spacecraft

by Andrew Jones April 17, 2025April 17, 2025

South Korea’s KSLV-2 rocket blasts off from a seaside launchpad.

Policy & Politics

South Korea approves strategic plans for space

by Andrew Jones February 28, 2025February 28, 2025

Image of the moon's far side with the Earth visible in the background against the blackness of space, captured by the 2014 Chang’e-5 T1 mission. The lunar surface appears gray and cratered, highlighting the rugged terrain of the moon.

Civil

China invites bids for lunar satellite to support crewed moon landing missions

by Andrew Jones February 14, 2025February 14, 2025

Image captured by Pakistan's iCube-Q CubeSat aboard China's Chang'e-6 mission, showing a crescent moon on the left and the Sun shining brightly on the right, with lens flares and scattered light effects.

Civil

Pakistan rover to fly on China’s Chang’e-8 lunar south pole mission

by Andrew Jones February 10, 2025February 10, 2025

Artistic render of China's Chang'e-8 lunar lander on the moon's surface, featuring a gold-colored lander with extended solar panels under a starry lunar sky, illuminated by the Sun.

Civil

China embraces commercial participation in moon mission for the first time

by Andrew Jones January 27, 2025January 27, 2025

Artwork depicting lunar mining operations for Helium-3 involving harvesters, a solar power plant, rovers and return launchers. Credit: Interlune

Interlune plans to gather scarce lunar Helium-3 for quantum computing on Earth

by Leonard David January 23, 2025January 23, 2025

Image of the moon's far side with the Earth visible in the background against the blackness of space, captured by the 2014 Chang’e-5 T1 mission. The lunar surface appears gray and cratered, highlighting the rugged terrain of the moon.

Civil

China explores using orbiting lasers to power spacecraft on the moon

by Andrew Jones January 21, 2025January 21, 2025