{"id":498872,"date":"2026-06-14T07:11:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T07:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/498872\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T07:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T07:11:18","slug":"artemis-ii-is-already-changing-what-we-know-about-the-moon-im-a-geologist-this-is-how-the-mission-science-is-unlocking-key-lunar-secrets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/498872\/","title":{"rendered":"Artemis II is already changing what we know about the Moon. I’m a geologist \u2013\u00a0this is how the mission science is unlocking key lunar secrets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The resounding success of Artemis II\u2019s return to the Moon has rekindled humanity\u2019s interest in our nearest celestial neighbour, drawing our eyes up from the horizon to wonder what new insights can be gained and how lunar science can be advanced.<\/p>\n

With nearly six decades of technological advancements behind us since we last ventured to the lunar surface, the future missions in the Artemis programme are set to tackle the mysteries that remain unsolved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TheA crescent Earth, as seen by the Artemis II crew, 3 April 2026. Credit: NASA<\/p>\n

While the completion of Artemis II took public interest in the return to the Moon to new levels, it also had an important science mission.<\/p>\n

Its four crew members were the first humans in history to get such a high-altitude view of the far side of the Moon and their mission was planned to take full advantage of this.<\/p>\n

\"EarthsetEarthset \u2013\u00a0an image of Earth setting behind the Moon \u2013\u00a0captured by the Artemis II crew on 6 April 2026. Credit: NASA<\/p>\n

During the fly-by, they took high-resolution images of the far side, revealing surface coloration that will be analysed by lunar geologists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While analysis of the photography is ongoing, an early indication of what the lunar surface colorations reveal can be taken from minerals and rocks found on Earth, as well as the samples and photography of previous Apollo missions.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, brown and red indicate iron-rich rocks and hematite, blue indicates the presence of titanium, while white indicates anorthosite (rocks formed from cooled lava).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their 6,500km-high (4,040-mile) vantage point inside the Integrity spacecraft also gave the astronauts a unique opportunity to study the complex lava-flooded Mare Orientale<\/a> and the wider Orientale Basin, affording a wide perspective of this huge impact basin, which from Earth is seen at a very oblique angle on the Moon\u2019s extreme western edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Into the eye of Orientale
\n\"OrientaleOrientale Basin and Grimaldi crater, as seen during Artemis II, 6 April 2026. Credit: NASA<\/p>\n

Orientale Basin was formed by a massive asteroid impact 3.8 billion years ago, which left a 930km-wide (577-mile) depression that is 7\u20138km (4\u20135 miles) deep.<\/p>\n

Geologists are particularly excited to see this impact structure clearly because, unlike other similar impact basins on the near side of the Moon, such as Imbrium, it has not been completely filled in by younger lava flows.<\/p>\n

Orientale Basin\u2019s somewhat empty depression allows the crater rim to be seen in cross-section, exposing rocks deep within the lunar crust that it is hoped will provide new clues about the early formation of the Moon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AA view of Mare Orientale on the far side of the Moon, as seen by NASA’s Lunar Orbiter 4 mission. Credit: NASA<\/p>\n

Orientale Basin also sits in an important position on the boundary of the lunar near and far sides.<\/p>\n

Evaluating Artemis II\u2019s high-resolution imagery will help confirm why the near side is more volcanic and why the far side has a greater crustal thickness.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Orientale is the textbook example that will serve as a model for impact basins on Mars, as space programmes continue to plan future planetary missions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps more immediately, the new imagery will support upcoming lunar landings, with a particular focus on identifying a site for Artemis IV at the lunar south pole.<\/p>\n

This unexplored region is unique because satellites have confirmed the presence of permanent ice deposits brought by impacting asteroids, which could serve as a source of drinking water and oxygen for astronauts, as well as rocket fuel.<\/p>\n

\"AA view of the lunar South Pole, centred on the Aitken Basin, as captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter. Credit: NASA\/Goddard
\nArtemis II and the need for lunar geology<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Artemis II highlights that understanding lunar landscape geology \u2013\u00a0the study of the Moon\u2019s surface features, rocks and formation processes \u2013 is essential for successful future exploration.<\/p>\n

Combined with the knowledge gained from studying the Moon\u2019s geology from past Apollo missions, it provides a solid foundation for future lunar missions.<\/p>\n

The Apollo programme\u2019s impact on lunar science is vast. In total, 381kg (842lb) of Moon rock was returned to Earth and, once analysed, provided an incredible number of answers to questions about its geology.<\/p>\n

From these missions, scientists learned that although it is not tectonically active, volcanism peaked on the lunar surface 3\u20134 billion years ago and left behind enormous basaltic lava flows.<\/p>\n

\"AA lunar sample captured during Apollo 15 that was nicknamed the Genesis Rock. The rock was actually a piece of the Moon\u2019s primordial crust and was returned to Earth for examination. Credit: NASA<\/p>\n

With the naked eye, we see these as dark maria from Earth (making the classic \u2018man in the Moon\u2019 shape).<\/p>\n

These dark maria cover approximately 20% of the near-side surface and are comparable to large-scale lava flows seen on our planet.<\/p>\n

This is why astronauts often train in rugged, volcanic environments on Earth, like Iceland and Hawaii, which allow them to simulate the challenging terrain they will encounter on the Moon. \u00a0<\/p>\n

While the Moon\u2019s surface is tectonically inactive and lacks plate boundaries like Earth\u2019s, it can still experience moonquakes, which future lunar crews will have to prepare for.<\/p>\n

These are thought to be releases in seismic energy due to the thermal expansion and contraction of rock as the Moon\u2019s surface fluctuates between 127\u00b0C (260\u00baF) in daylight and \u2013134\u00b0C (\u2013210\u00baF) at night, or from tidal forces caused by Earth\u2019s gravity.<\/p>\n

\"AmartyaCredit: Amartya Mishra<\/p>\n

During Apollo missions 15\u201317, lunar rovers allowed more extensive travel and geological discovery, traversing 90km (56 miles) in total to complete surface mapping, coring projects, ground-penetrating experiments and the installation of complex monitoring systems.<\/p>\n

These were used to measure variables such as surface tremors, as well as heat flow, solar wind and cosmic radiation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the Moon\u2019s huge distance, the investment in the Apollo programme almost 60 years ago continues to be a valuable source of information about the Moon.<\/p>\n

Now we have new findings from the Artemis programme to add to it, which will help us understand our lunar neighbour and ensure the safety of the future visitors who return there.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The resounding success of Artemis II\u2019s return to the Moon has rekindled humanity\u2019s interest in our nearest celestial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[61,60,82],"class_list":["post-498872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}