How the Moon got its spots

By Conor McKeever

Discover how a surface mottled with dark patches reveals the Moon's volcanic past.

The surface of the Moon is covered in huge dark spots, visible from Earth even with the naked eye. These patches are known as maria - a Latin word meaning 'seas'.

Prof Sara Russell, a planetary scientist at the Museum, works with rock samples and high-resolution images to study the history and geology of the Moon.

Join Sara as she tells science communicator Camilla Tham how the maria were formed, and explores the techniques we can use to learn more about our largest satellite.

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Meet a space researcher who's over the Moon about her work

Growing up in the Apollo era of the seventies, Prof Sara Russell fantasised about working on space missions.

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How did the Moon form?

Before the Earth and Moon, there was a proto-Earth and Theia. Museum planetary science researcher Prof Sara Russell explains the origins of Earth's closest companion.

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