Scientists suggest that a day on Earth might extend to 25 hours in the future due to the Moon’s gradual drift away from our planet.

Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison indicates that the Moon is receding from Earth at a rate of approximately 3.8 centimeters per year. This phenomenon could result in Earth days lasting 25 hours in 200 million years. Historically, a day on Earth lasted just over 18 hours around 1.4 billion years ago.

Stephen Meyers, a professor in the geoscience department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, points to the gravitational interactions between Earth and the Moon as a primary cause. “As the Moon moves away, the Earth is like a spinning figure skater who slows down as they stretch their arms out,” explained Meyers.

Meyers and his team are using ‘astrochronology’ to study ancient geological processes. “We want to be able to study rocks that are billions of years old in a way that is comparable to how we study modern geologic processes,” he said.

The concept of the Moon’s recession is not new, but the Wisconsin research delves deeper into its historical and geological context. By examining ancient geological formations and sediment layers, researchers have tracked the Earth-Moon system over billions of years. They found that while the Moon’s current recession rate is relatively stable, it has fluctuated due to various factors such as Earth’s rotational speed and continental drift.

NASA has revised the timeline for its crewed Artemis missions, which aim to transport humans to the Moon. Originally scheduled for later this year, the first mission, Artemis II, is now set to launch in September 2025 for an orbit around the Earth’s satellite. Subsequently, the landing mission, Artemis III, has been rescheduled for September 2026. Despite these adjustments, NASA confirms that the Artemis IV mission, intended to take humans to the lunar Gateway space station in 2028, remains unaffected.

These future missions are designed to “establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon” and achieve the historic milestones of landing the first woman and the first person of color on its surface. Employing NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, the Artemis missions have faced delays, similar to the setbacks experienced by the rocket itself before being deemed operational by NASA.

NASA cites safety concerns as the primary reason for the timeline shifts, emphasizing the need to address a battery issue and conduct work on circuitry related to environmental systems, including air ventilation. Recent reports indicate that NASA discovered a battery problem in the Lockheed Martin-built Orion capsule during vibration testing, necessitating replacement. Additionally, investigations are ongoing to understand why the capsule lost char layers during its 2022 reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.

The Artemis I mission in 2022, an uncrewed venture sending NASA’s Orion capsule to orbit the Moon and return to Earth, provided crucial data influencing these timeline adjustments. Catherine Koerner, NASA’s associate administrator of its Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, emphasizes a commitment to prioritizing crew safety in decision-making.

Originally, the Artemis program had a more extended timeline, planning to establish the lunar Gateway by 2026 and land astronauts on the lunar surface by 2028. However, a shift occurred in 2019 when Vice President Mike Pence announced an accelerated schedule for a crewed landing in 2024. In 2021, NASA further delayed the attempt to land humans on the Moon to 2025, with challenges such as costly contracts and legal disputes contributing to mission slowdowns, as highlighted in a report by NASA auditors.

India has achieved a significant milestone in space exploration as its solar observation mission successfully entered the sun’s orbit following a four-month journey.

Launched in September, the Aditya-L1 mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is equipped with various instruments to measure and observe the sun’s outer layers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the accomplishment, stating it marks another landmark for India and acknowledges the relentless dedication of the nation’s scientists in undertaking complex space missions.

According to India’s science and technology minister, Jitendra Singh, the probe has reached its final orbit, where it aims to unravel the mysteries of the Sun-Earth connection. Positioned at Lagrange Point 1, the spacecraft will conduct an extensive study of the sun, with a specific focus on the solar corona and its impact on space weather.

Covering a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers over four months, the satellite’s journey is only a small fraction of the Earth-sun distance of 150 million kilometers.

Named after the Hindi word for the sun, this mission follows India’s previous success in landing on the moon’s south pole with the Chandrayaan-3 mission in August of last year.

Scientists involved in the Aditya-L1 project aim to gain insights into the effects of solar radiation on the increasing number of satellites in orbit, with a particular focus on phenomena affecting projects like Elon Musk’s Starlink communications network.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath expressed anticipation for scientific outcomes in the coming days, highlighting the importance of understanding the sun, which plays a crucial role in controlling space weather. The mission is expected to have a lifespan of at least five years, given the remaining fuel in the satellite.

ISRO has been actively sharing updates on the mission’s progress through posts on X.

While other countries, including the United States and the European Space Agency, have sent probes to explore the solar system’s center, India’s Aditya-L1 mission distinguishes itself as the first from any Asian nation to be placed in orbit around the sun.