A beatuiful close image of some craters on the lunar surface taken by the Artemis I crew. The top of the photo is lit by the sun and it slowly fades to darkness at the bottom.

What We Study

The Moon is a cornerstone in our scientific quest to better understand everything within our entire solar system.

The Moon is a cornerstone for solar system science and exoplanet studies. Understanding the Moon helps us understand other planets, how they have evolved and the processes which have shaped their surfaces. It also helps us understand the influence the Moon has had on the Earth, the record of the ancient Sun, and it serves as a platform to study the rest of the universe. By using the Moon as our closest testing ground for robotics and instrument systems, we can further human exploration to not only the Moon, but the rest of the solar system. Leveraging human exploration infrastructure and resources supports and advances our ability to conduct remote field geology and other science investigations on planetary bodies with both crew and robotic assets.

The Moon’s surface is shown in an array of hues covering all the colors in the rainbow. An elevation color bar is on the right with the colors beginning in the white at 10,760 meters and ends in the blue at negative 9,150 meters. Most of the lunar map is a bright orange and yellow, while at the south pole blue and purple dominate that area. The green hues are peaking through the orange to show places of lower elevation.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) team released this topographical image of the Moon’s surface which was achieved by using the LRO Wide Angle Camera (WAC) and the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA). The pixel scale is about 100 meters which means a single measure of elevation (one pixel) is about two football fields side-by-side. This map is a near-globe representation of the moon with an elevation color chart on the right measured in meters.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/DLR/Arizona State University

The overall mission of ESSIO aims to ensure science from all the SMD divisions is being enabled by and included within exploration elements and technology investments throughout the entire agency. Strategic thinking on the best path forward for decadal-level science in exploration activities is applied to our commercial initiatives, international partnerships as well as cross-directorate collaborations.

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James Webb Space Telescope

The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

Perseverance Rover

Parker Solar Probe

Juno