News about Harrison Schmitt

It lights up the night sky and has captivated us since the dawn of humanity. But just how big is the moon compared to Earth, exactly how far away is it and why do we only see one side of our lunar satellite? These pie charts, tables, and graphs tell you all you need to hear about the glowing white sphere that orbits us from around 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers). MailOnline also examines the moon's various phases, where men have walked on the lunar surface, and how the 'air' compares to here and there on Earth.

Today, three Americans and a Canadian will fly around our lunar satellite as part of the Artemis II mission, scheduled for 2024. Many have speculated about who may be aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft, with at least one female explorer named as one of them. Here's what you need to hear about today's announcement, including how to watch live and who the most likely candidates are.

SpaceX has sent a Japanese lunar lander into space, starting its five-month journey to the moon. On Sunday, the spacecraft, designed by Tokyo's Space Corporation, blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida atop a Falcon 9 rocket. In April, it will fly one million miles (1.6 million kilometres) from Earth before looping back and landing on the moon's surface. When it arrives, the ispace lander will launch a lunar rover from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a ball-shaped robot from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Andy Saunders' illustrations show exactly what Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt saw during their mission in 1972. In his book, Apollo Remastered, he spent 10,000 hours on the project, 400 of these photographs are included. It comes at a time when space exploration has seen NASA's Artemis I mission around the moon and back, and the Orion spacecraft is now returning to Earth after a so far successful journey.