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The Moon

On 3 September 2006, Europe's mission to the Moon, a robotic craft called SMART-1, performed a spectacular crash landing, visible to Earth-bound professionals and amateurs alike.
Here Nature news takes a close look at the Moon, from its geology to its effects on mankind, from its birth to the future missions planned to build a base on its surface.

NEWS
DISCUSS
TIMELINE
SLIDESHOW
FEATURES
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    NEWS
Moon mission ends with a bang
Last orbits for triumphant craft produce memorable photo album.
4 September 2006
Lunar probe ready to bite the dust
SMART-1 prepares to go out with a bang.
30 August 2006
    DISCUSS
Watch out!
How to spy on SMART's lunar impact.
31 August 2006
    TIMELINE

From the Moon's birth through Galileo's observations, the Apollo landings, and future missions, see our timeline of the moon's history.

    SLIDESHOW

The moon in pictures

How was the moon formed? Why is it a funny shape? And what's that orange soil made of?

Click play to find out more.

    FEATURES
Fly me to the Moon
Going back for science, profit and fun.
01 September 2006
Pull of the Moon
Tales of the Moon's effects on animal behaviour are not just moonshine.
01 September 2006
I'd buy you the Moon
Is it possible to buy up property in space; and should it be?
01 September 2006
Begging a crust
NASA has a lot of moon rock, but is it enough?
01 September 2006
INTERVIEW
The Moon in your hands
NASA has a developed a virtual Moon, much like Google Earth, that lets users zoom around three-dimensional visualizations of the terrain. Declan Butler talks to Patrick Hogan, manager of NASA's World Wind project, about the software.
01 September 2006
   PODCAST
Listen to the story of SMART-1.
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