The moon seen from the Orion spacecraft of NASA's Artemis mission

© NAS

Celebrating our lunar neighbor. International Moon Day

International Moon Day is celebrated on July 20, the day humans first set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. It recognizes our lunar achievements and highlights scientific and technological advancements, like NASA's Orion spacecraft, seen here. Designed for deep space exploration, Orion completed a test flight to the moon without astronauts in 2022 and will carry out a crewed orbit in 2024. The plan is to return astronauts to the moon's surface in 2025. NASA hopes that these flights, along with events like International Moon Day, will encourage public engagement and education about the moon and its influence on Earth, as well as the potential for future space exploration and colonization.