Nasa to reveal 'exciting news' about the Moon

US space agency to make major announcement on Monday

The far side of the Moon remains largely unexplored, but Nasa is turning its focus back to the lunar surface. Nasa 

Nasa said it would announce an exciting new discovery about the Moon on Monday.

The results come from its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or Sofia.

Sofia, a modified Boeing 747 with a telescope, is the world's largest airborne observatory.

It proved important for Nasa to map the Milky Way, but now the agency is turning its focus closer to home.

More details will be revealed next week but it comes as Nasa ramps up efforts to go back to the Moon before more complex attempts to land humans on Mars.

Under its Artemis programme, the agency will send the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 to prepare for human exploration of Mars as early as the 2030s, it said.

The UAE Space Agency signed an agreement to be part of Nasa's Artemis Accords – an international treaty outlining responsible space exploration. The UAE is also planning to send a small rover to the Moon by 2024.

The Nasa press conference, meanwhile, takes place at midday eastern time in the US (8pm in the UAE). Audio of the conference will be streamed live on Nasa's website.

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