Possibly the world’s cutest robot could be the key to unlocking some of the Moon’s best kept secrets thanks to a team of scientists.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 53 years since man last walked on the Moon, and while we’re sending a crew back there with NASA’s Artemis III mission, it’s not the first time we’ve settled down on that rocky giant since Eugene Cernan took those fabled steps.

A series of lunar missions are setting the stage for Artemis III, and following IM-1’s legacy as the first soft lunar landing by a private company in February 2024, Intuitive Machines has sent another rover up there for a very different mission.

The IM-2 mission has, unfortunately, ended with disaster, and just 24 hours after the Nova-C lunar lander headed out on its mission to the shadowy South Pole of the Moon, Athena has been declared defunct.

Castrol has teamed up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Ahead of IM-2’s short-lived mission, we spoke to Nicola Buck, serving as the Chief Marketing Officer for Castrol and mission spokesperson. Alongside Athena, the rover was packing some serious tech courtesy of its tiny AstroAnt robots.

Roughly the size of a toy car, AstroAnts are a swarm of R2-D2-inspired robots that could represent big things for the future of space travel and undertaking tasks that might typically be too dangerous for humans.

Despite temperatures at the South Pole of the Moon dipping as low as -382°F, it’s thought that the potential discovery of water there will catapult the future of the human race forward.

Explaining why the discovery of water at the South Pole of the Moon is so important, Buck said: “All the science that we have points to the fact that we believe, due to the temperatures in the South Pole of the Moon, due to the way it’s shielded from sunlight, due to the craters which exist there, that we believe there’s the presence of water.”

Admitting that the only thing left is for someone to actually find it, Buck continued to explain what water on the Moon could mean for us: “In a world where humans are on Earth, then you get into the presence of water, obviously, is quite interesting.

“If you can separate out the hydrogen in H2O, then you get into the materials that are needed for rocket fuel.

“So you open up the potential for, when we think about how you’re making space exploration and interplanetary travel in the future, a possibility that if you can do that.

Saying that we’re getting into the theoretical realms of creating rocket fuel from materials potentially in abundance on the Moon, the solar system suddenly feels a lot smaller.

Referring to these experiments as the ‘long-term vision’, Buck added: “That’s why experiments like this with our AstroAnts become part of that. Because if you do get into that world, or maybe we should say, when we get into that world of space exploration and travel, you’ve got to bring down the cost

“Bring new technologies in that make everything easier. And that’s why Castrol is collaborating on the [Astro]Ant, because of that vision for if these little ants could make monitoring.”

Buck hyped the commercialization of space travel, and although it’s all endorsed by NASA, Castrol teamed up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to provide lubricants to protect the AstroAnts from the harsh conditions of the Moon.

Reiterating the fact that the space industry will potentially be worth $1.3 trillion by 2035, she encourages brands and companies to get into this ‘interesting space’ while they can.

As for the potential colonization of other planets like Elon Musk’s plans to plant a flag on Mars, Buck concluded: “I do believe is that if we’re going to successfully enable some of these human missions, whether that’s to live somewhere or just to send people into space, it’s going to need a lot of technology development and we have to make it simpler, we have to make it cheaper, we have to make it safer. And that’s where companies like ours can come in.”

If you’ve ever wanted to see something straight out of a sci-fi movie, your chance will be coming soon. That’s because this week, a massive ‘X’ is set to appear on the Moon.

On Thursday, March 6, a rare phenomenon known as the Lunar X will be visible for a few short hours, offering a stunning spectacle for stargazers in the UK and US.

While it’s easy to think that this is more of an elaborate Elon Musk marketing stunt for SpaceX, it’s actually the work of the “clair-obscur” effect, a trick of the light caused by the sun casting shadows on the Moon’s rugged surface.

Lunar X appearing on the Moon’s surface across China (Getty Images)

The illusion forms at the meeting point of four craters; Purbach, La Caille, Blanchinus, and Regiomontanus; as the light hits them at just the right angle. The result? A giant glowing ‘X’ appearing on the lunar surface for a brief period.

And if you’re paying attention, you might also spot another similar effect — the Lunar V — which forms in the same way near the crater Ukert.

The Lunar X will begin forming at around 11:00 p.m Greenwich Mean Time and 06:00 p.m Eastern Standard Time, lasting for approximately four hours. The ‘X’ won’t appear all at once — it will gradually come into view over 2.3 hours, shine brightly for about an hour, and then fade away over the next 70 minutes as the sunlight shifts.

In the UK, the Moon will set around 02:00 p.m Greenwich Mean Time on Friday, March 7, meaning you’ll want to find a clear spot with an unobstructed view of the horizon. Those in the US will have a better chance of seeing it higher in the sky, due to it being 09:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time at that point.

Using binoculars for stargazing (Getty Images)

How to see the Lunar X

If you’re keen to check out the giant X on the Moon and Lunar V for yourself, you certainly can do. However, while they will technically be visible to the naked eye, you’ll need to keep a couple of things in mind — along with grabbing a pair of binoculars or a small telescope to get the best view.

When looking at the Moon around the given time, you’ll need to look for the terminator line — the boundary between the light and dark sides of the Moon. Next, move about a third of the way up from the southern edge, and you should spot the ‘X’ taking shape.

Finally, follow the terminator line north, and you’ll also see the Lunar V.

According to retired astronomer David Chapman, the best way to view the Lunar X is at lower magnification, as this enhances the glowing effect.

The downside for many hopefuls in the UK, is that they might be out of luck due to cloudy skies being expected over much of the country — especially in the southwest, Wales, and Scotland. The best chance for clear skies in the United Kingdom to see this natural event will be for those in the east.

Thankfully, this won’t be the only chance people will get to to see the Lunar X. The phenomenon actually happens been one and five times a year, though it’s not always visible. The next chances will occur on Saturday, April 5 (01:00 p.m GMT and 08:00 p.m EST) and July 3.

So, if the weather plays nice, grab your binoculars, head somewhere dark, and witness one of the Moon’s most fascinating optical illusions before it disappears.

One giant leap for private aerospace companies has been made by Firefly Aerospace, as they become the first of their kind to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon’s surface, and are using the opportunity to gather key scientific data.

Our relationship with the Moon began all the way back in 1969 when NASA‘s Apollo 11 mission safely landed on the surface, giving us a quote and images that are among the most iconic of their kind ever produced.

However, just three years later in 1972 with Apollo 17 was the last time that any astronaut stepped foot on the Moon, as monetary and regulatory restrictions have made the reenacting the feat frustratingly impossible in half a century following that last mission.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander is the first of it’s kind, representing a major achievement for a private company (Firefly Aerospace)

While still without any actual astronauts, Firefly Aerospace’s $145,000,000 ‘Blue Ghost’ lander has become the first private company mission to successfully land on the Moon with no complications, following Intuitive Machines’ faulty landing in 2024.

As reported by the Metro, the landing comes at a time when even government agencies like NASA are struggling to achieve similar feats, and the Blue Ghost lander managed to avoid dangers such as boulders in the landing process.

“Blue Ghost Mission 1 will deliver 10 science and technology instruments to the lunar surface as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) intiative,” the Firefly Aerospace website outlines in reference to this launch.

“On March 14, Firefly expects to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse when the Earth blocks the sun above the Moon’s horizon.

“Blue Ghost will then capture the lunar sunset on March 16, providing data on how lunar dust levitates due to solar influences and creates a lunar horizon glow first documented by Eugene Cernan on Apollo 17.”

Furthermore, Blue Ghost will be vacuuming Moon dirt and drilling up to 10ft into the surface to measure temperatures, both of which will provide vital information that’ll further our scientific understanding, and potentially lead to further and extended human exploration on its surface.

In terms of the landing spot, Blue Ghost has dropped nearby Mons Latreille, which is a large basin the the northeast quadrant of the near side. This particular area was created by volcanic eruptions around 3,000,000,000 years ago, allowing vital data collection surrounding “the Moon’s regolith, geophysical characteristics, and the interaction of solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field.”

What’s clear is that this will be far from the last private expedition towards the Moon, and with reports that private companies are ramping up their efforts to capture the ‘wild west’ of its surface, we could see efforts rapidly expand in the coming years.

A fascinating animation shows what would happen if all of Earth’s water was transferred to the moon.

It is something that probably none of us have ever even considered before now, but what would happen if there was a vast amount of water on the moon?

According to the US Geological Survey, there is around 332,519,000 cubic miles of water on our planet.

So, how would the moon cope if we shipped it over there?

One YouTuber, who is known as Infinite Intellect, decided to shed some light on the idea.

In a clip uploaded to the channel, the YouTuber said: “If we transferred all of Earth’s water to the moon the results would be visually staggering from Earth, however, unlike Earth, the moon is tidally locked, meaning it always shows the same face to us.

“This results in a permanent tidal bulge where the water would gather and be held by Earth’s gravitational pull, creating a constant elevated mound of water about 2,169 meters (7,116 feet) high on the side facing us.

“This unique and permanent water feature would make the moon utterly breathtaking.”

The idea of the Earth’s water being moved to the moon caused a stir online, with many people taking to the YouTube comment section to share their reactions.

One user wrote: “Thanks for answering the important questions in life.”

The moon would have a tidal bulge if it carried the Earth’s water (YouTube/@infinite.intellect)

Another said: “Its reflection from the sun would be wild.”

A third person commented: “If the moon had a surface of water covering it, I think trying to land on the moon would be 900000X more terrifying.”

A fourth wrote: “Changes in the moon’s mass, surface temperature, gravity, atmosphere… Epic scenario.”

And a fifth person added: “If Earth’s oceans were on the moon, we would discover that the Mariana Trench is not the deepest point on Earth.”

Although one user envisioned a bigger problems, writing: “But guys, water will boil away because of the lack of atmospheric pressure in the moon.”

The user went on to add: “Most water vapor would evaporate and escape from moon’s gravitational field (as the escape velocity is 2.38 km/s or 1.48 miles per second).

“A fraction of the water might remain as ice in permanently shadowed craters.”

However, there was one (rather morbid) solution raised to this, as another person pointed out: “If we transferred all of earths water to the moon we wouldn’t be around to see the results.”