2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that saw the first humans land on the Moon.

The European Space Agency, ESA, is teaming up with international partners to return humans to Earth’s natural satellite. The Moon is again in the spotlight as a destination for both robotic missions and human explorers. A robotic landing in partnership with Russia, looking for ice in the dark polar regions of the Moon, is foreseen for as early as 2023.

Take advantage of these exciting Space Exploration developments in your science engagement work: the ‘Forward to the Moon’ kit brings together in a handy package links to photos, graphics, artist impressions, videos and animations, websites and posters concerning:

• Key ‘Moon Facts’, including ‘10 Things You Did Not Know About the Moon’
• NASA’s Orion spacecraft and its ESA-designed and -built European Service Module – the powerhouse of the spacecraft
• More content related to Space Exploration

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) resources for primary and secondary classrooms that link curricular topics to the exploration of the Moon are also available in the ‘Teach with the Moon’ series produced by ESA Education. Have a look for inspiration for your next hands-on workshop or activity!

And the Moon is only part of the story: this collection of image panels (also available as an animation) provides an overview of ESA's ambitious plans, taking humans from the Space Station to the Moon, a deep-space gateway and a Mars landing.

Happy (space) exploring!