Something was hidden aboard when, 60 years ago, the United States achieved its first soft landing on the moon with a squat, three-legged spacecraft that scouted in advance of the manned Apollo missions.

A rare second full moon arrives this week — and if you get the timing wrong, you'll miss its magic. Here's how to plan it precisely.

"Once in a blue moon" has become synonymous with something rare, yet the astronomical event itself is neither especially unusual nor related to the Moon's color.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is already ordering landers, rovers and drones for a sprawling moon base, less than two months after the Artemis II’s record-breaking lunar flyaround. The space agency outlined the first phase of its moon base plans on Tuesday, awarding hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to four U.S. companies.

On May 31, the lunar month culminates in a Blue Moon  — in this case, the second full moon in a calendar month. The "Blue Moon" moniker adds a touch of drama to this full moon, calling to mind the emotive associations from popular culture over the last century.

Whether you're watching a spectacular lunar eclipse or studying lunar features through a telescope, there are plenty of reasons to gaze at the moon. The short answer is no, astronomers told Live Science. Not only does the moon's appearance change from ...