Moon and Venus

The United States and China both plan to land astronauts on the Moon in the next few years. And scientists from both countries are working on the best landing sites – places that are safe and easy to operate from, but that offer some interesting science. One of China’s possible sites is just north of the equator, near the center of the hemisphere that faces Earth. It offers a range of geologic features, spanning almost all of lunar history. The site is known as Rimae Bode. It’s along the boundary between a smooth volcanic plain – the Sea of Vapors – and a more jumbled region in the lunar highlands. It features ancient lava flows, deep channels, layers of volcanic ash, and material blasted out of a nearby crater. Samples from these regions would help scientists piece together more than four billion years of impacts, volcanic activity, and other events. Planetary scientists are especially interested in the layers of ash, which also contain tiny glass beads. The material might have been blasted from deep below the surface billions of years ago. They would provide details about the Moon’s interior – hard-to-come-by insights into our satellite world. The crescent Moon teams up with the planet Venus in the early evening sky the next couple of nights. Venus is the brilliant “evening star.” But they’re quite low as twilight fades, so there’s not a lot of time to enjoy the view before they set. Script by Damond Benningfield