NASA Will Announce Major News about the Moon

NASA has some big news about the Moon, and it's going to share it with the world on Monday 26 October at 12 PM EDT.

It hasn't shed any light on the major news, just that it's, well, major. The new discovery about our Moon was caught by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), which is a Boeing 747 that flies higher than regular ones. 

The space agency is set to send its first woman, and return its next man to the Moon with its Artemis mission in 2024.

SEE ALSO: NASA OUTLINES ARTEMIS MOON PROGRAM IN 71ST INTERNATIONAL ASTRONAUTIC CONGRESS

Major and exciting discovery

The new discovery will add to NASA's understanding of the Moon and will support efforts in furthering deep space exploration. The new information was gathered by SOFIA, the modified Boeing 747 that flies in our atmosphere at a higher height than regular planes. It dons a 9-foot telescope that has a clear and unobstructed view of the universe and objects in it. 

It flies above 99% of the atmosphere's obscuring water vapor, and observes thanks to infrared wavelengths, picking up phenomena impossible to see with visible light, as per NASA. 

In its press release, NASA explained that the briefing participants will include a range of high profiles, such as: 

• "Paul Hertz, Astrophysics division director at NASA Headquarters, Washington
• Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters
• Casey Honniball, postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
• Naseem Rangwala, project scientist for the SOFIA mission, NASA’s Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California"

The conference will be held virtually and streamed live via NASA's website, you can view it here on Monday at the aforementioned time.

It's incredible to know that there's still so much to discover about astronomical bodies such as the Moon which highlights the importance of continual space exploration.