NASA’s ‘New and Exciting’ Moon Discovery: Start Time, How to Listen

Buckle up for “an exciting new discovery on the moon.” NASA held an upcoming teleconference to share the results of its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia), an aircraft equipped with a telescope. “This new discovery contributes to NASA’s efforts to learn about the moon in support of deep space exploration,” the agency said in a statement Wednesday.

NASA isn’t giving many details on the announcement, but you can tune in to a live audio feed of the media teleconference on Monday, October 26 at 9 a.m. PT via the NASA Live website.

Sofia is a high-flying custom 747 aircraft. “Flying above 99% of the obscuring water vapor in the atmosphere, SOFIA observes at infrared wavelengths and can pick up phenomena impossible to see in visible light,” NASA said.

NASA has been busy investigating the water ice around the lunar south pole, which could be a valuable resource to have in place while astronauts live and work around the moon. The space agency is also interested in lava tubes, spacious caves that could provide shelter for visiting humans.

We’ll have to wait for the announcement to get all the juicy details, but there are some topics that are probably not covered. Despite some entertaining speculation on social media, don’t expect any bombshell about alien life or cheese.