A new study of the Moon suggests that our natural satellite has an iron core. This apparently makes it more Earth-like than would probably be the case had the Moon been simply captured by the Earth’s gravitational field. As a result, the finding adds weight to the theory according to which the Moon was formed when a Mars-sized object slammed into our planet, tearing off a chunk that became the moon. See National Geographic for more information.

News Scientist explains a study that has come closer to explaining why Jupiter, Saturnus and Uranus each have moons that containt the equivalent of 0.01% of the host planet’s mass. Read the article here

NASA has decided to build a two tonne satellite and crash it onto the moon. The idea is to see if the impact crater will dig up some water. Maybe NASA could ask ESA to help with the mission as ESA, after all, has in the recent years had quite some experience in crashing satellites onto planets…