SpaceX on Thursday released the most detailed public update in nearly two years on its multibillion-dollar contract to land astronauts on the Moon for NASA, amid growing sentiment that China is likely to beat the United States back to the lunar surface with humans.

In a discovery that could rewrite what we know about where water comes from and the building blocks of life in the solar system, researchers have found rare meteorite pieces inside dust brought back from the far side of the Moon.

(THE CONVERSATION) Interest in the Moon has been high – just in the past two years there have been 12 attempts to send missions to the Moon, nearly half of which private companies undertook. With so much activity, it’s important to start thinking about coordination and safety.

US space agency NASA has repeatedly expressed concern that SpaceX's giant new Starship vehicle may not be ready to carry astronauts to the moon's surface.