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China's sample-return mission from the lunar far side is greatly expanding our understanding of the solar system. I hope the renewed interest in the Moon brings a lot of new lunar science with it (and not just, uh, AI factories).
Here's a look back 4.3 billion years:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260208011014.htm #space #science #tech
Apollo lunar samples hinted at a strange flurry of major impacts that happened hundreds of millions of years after the solar system formed: the "late heavy bombardment."
Chang'e-6 samples suggest it was an illusion, addressing another major puzzle.
Over the years, there have been a lot of weird explanations for our two-faced Moon.
Samples from the far side suggest a simpler & more logical answer, linking the division to the asteroid impact that carved the Moon's South Pole–Aitken basin: Whacked out of balance.
China's Chang'e-6 lunar lander may have solved one of the great Moon mysteries: Why does its far side look totally different than the side that faces us?
A huge impact 4.3 billion years ago partially melted the Moon's mantle & made it lopsided, according to a new study.
https://eos.org/articles/primordial-impact-may-explain-why-the-moon-is-asymmetrical #space #science #nature #technology
Japan's under-appreciated Akatsuki Venus probe has greatly expanded our understanding of Earth's strange, wayward twin. 450 degrees C and 90 atmospheres of pressure on the ground...superrotating winds above.
Context and images here:
https://www.planetary.org/articles/0116-a-new-look-at-venus-with-akatsuki #astronomy #space #science #nature
It's frustrating to see huge accounts spreading AI slop space images when real, amazing images are easily accessible.
Left: fake.
Right: real image from the Akatsuki probe, showing Venus's clouds backlit by infrared from its overheated lower atmosphere.
https://akatsuki.isas.jaxa.jp/en/gallery/data/ #space #science #art
