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About

Every picture and every figure comes from somewhere. Here is where.

The project

  • Khonsu shows the real Moon as it is today, drawn from NASA data.
  • It maps everything named on the Moon, follows every mission, and gathers what we know about it.
  • It is open and non-commercial: no ads, nothing to sell.
  • Every fact on the site comes with its source, listed below.

Sources

Grouped by what they give the site.

The Moon’s surface

  • CGI Moon Kit (SVS 4720) NASA Scientific Visualization Studio

    The colour and the relief of the Moon on every page: LROC WAC colour mosaic and LOLA laser altimetry, recalibrated to the real maria/highlands contrast.

    Public domain Credit : “NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio” svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4720

  • Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center · Arizona State University (LROC) · LOLA Science Team

    The spacecraft whose cameras (LROC) and laser altimeter (LOLA) measured the data above.

    Public domain (PDS products) lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov

Positions and phases

  • Astronomy Engine Don Cross

    Where the Moon and the Sun are, the phase, the libration and the Moon’s orientation (IAU rotation model), for any date.

    MIT github.com/cosinekitty/astronomy

  • Dial-A-Moon NASA Scientific Visualization Studio

    The reference our calculations are tested against (JPL DE421 ephemeris): Khonsu agrees within 0.005° on the Moon’s orientation.

    Public domain Credit : “NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio” svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/help

Names on the Moon

  • Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) · USGS Astrogeology Science Center

    Every official name on the Moon: where it is, its size, its type, when it was approved and where the name comes from.

    Public domain Credit : “International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature." (access date). http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/” planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov

  • LROC Anthropogenic Objects LROC Science Operations Center, Arizona State University (NASA LRO)

    Where the landers, rovers, experiments and impact sites left by missions lie, measured on LROC images and by laser ranging; mission and landing date.

    Public domain (PDS product) Credit : “NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University” pds.lroc.im-ldi.com/data/LRO-L-LROC-5-RDR-V1.0/LROLRC_2001/EXTRAS/SHAPEFILE/ANTHROPOGENIC_OBJECTS

  • Coordinates of anthropogenic features on the Moon R. V. Wagner, D. M. Nelson, J. B. Plescia, M. S. Robinson, E. J. Speyerer, E. Mazarico — Icarus 283:92-103 (2017)

    The method and the reference behind the positions of man-made objects; citation required by the LROC dataset.

    Cited only (© Elsevier) Credit : “Wagner, R. V., Nelson, D. M., Plescia, J. B., Robinson, M. S., Speyerer, E. J., & Mazarico, E. (2017). Coordinates of anthropogenic features on the Moon. Icarus, 283, 92-103. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2016.05.011” doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.05.011

  • Wikidata Wikidata contributors · Wikimedia Foundation

    The French names of lunar features, and the links to their Wikipedia articles.

    CC0 1.0 www.wikidata.org

  • NSSDCA Master Catalog and lunar mission pages NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (Goddard Space Flight Center)

    The landing dates of Surveyor 1 and of the Luna landers, where another list gives their launch date by mistake.

    Public domain (US Government work) nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunarussr.html

Missions: archives and references

  • Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 (NASA SP-2018-4041) Asif A. Siddiqi — NASA History Division

    Launch date and time (UT) and outcome of every robotic Moon mission from 1958 to 2016 (Table 1, outcome codes S / P / F / IP), and whether a failure was the launch vehicle's or the spacecraft's (entry narratives).

    Public domain (US Government work) Credit : “Siddiqi, A. A. (2018). Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016. NASA SP-2018-4041. Washington, DC: NASA History Division.” www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/beyond-earth-tagged.pdf

  • Chronology of Lunar and Planetary Exploration NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (Goddard Space Flight Center)

    Launch dates of the Moon missions after 2016 whose NSSDCA catalogue page does not open (tools/import_missions.py).

    Public domain (US Government work) nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chronology.html

  • Table of Anthropogenic Impacts and Spacecraft on the Moon NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (Goddard Space Flight Center)

    Date and kind (soft landing or impact) of every arrival on the Moon, and the approximate site where LROC has not measured one; the outcome of the landers launched after 2016.

    Public domain (US Government work) nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_artifact_impacts.html

  • Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Deliveries NASA Science Mission Directorate

    Launch dates of Peregrine Mission One and IM-1, and whether they landed.

    Public domain (US Government work) science.nasa.gov/lunar-discovery/deliveries

  • CAPSTONE NASA

    CAPSTONE completed its primary technology objectives; NASA’s activities ended in June 2026.

    Public domain (US Government work) www.nasa.gov/mission/capstone

  • Artemis I NASA

    Outcome and splashdown date of the uncrewed Artemis I flight test.

    Public domain (US Government work) www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-i

  • Artemis II NASA

    Launch date of Artemis II (1 April 2026).

    Public domain (US Government work) www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii

  • NASA Welcomes Record-Setting Artemis II Moonfarers Back to Earth (release 26-030) NASA

    Outcome of Artemis II and its splashdown time (5:07 p.m. PDT on 10 April 2026, i.e. 00:07 UTC on 11 April).

    Public domain (US Government work) www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth

  • Lunar Trailblazer NASA

    Lunar Trailblazer lost contact the day after launch; NASA ended the mission on 31 July 2025.

    Public domain (US Government work) science.nasa.gov/mission/lunar-trailblazer

  • Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (mission page) NASA

    LRO is an active mission, in lunar orbit since 2009.

    Public domain (US Government work) science.nasa.gov/mission/lro

  • THEMIS and THEMIS-ARTEMIS NASA

    Two THEMIS spacecraft were sent into lunar orbit as ARTEMIS and still work there.

    Public domain (US Government work) science.nasa.gov/mission/themis

  • Opening of International Loan Applications for Chang’E-5 Lunar Research Samples (2025) China National Space Administration

    Chang’e 5 brought lunar samples back to Earth (CNSA lends them to researchers).

    Cited only (© CNSA) www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n6465652/n6465653/c10713167/content.html

  • Study on Chang'e-6 samples sheds new light on lunar oxidation mechanism (16 Nov 2025) China National Space Administration (Xinhua)

    Chang’e 6 brought far-side samples back to Earth.

    Cited only (© CNSA / Xinhua) www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n6465652/n6465653/c10718462/content.html

Missions: operators’ announcements

Library: science

  • OpenAlex OurResearch

    The metadata of every article on the Science shelf: exact title, authors, journal, year, open-access status and licence; abstracts only when their licence allows it.

    CC0 1.0 openalex.org

  • Crossref REST API Crossref

    A check of each article’s DOI, title, authors and licence, against OpenAlex.

    Metadata: facts, no restriction; abstracts remain the publisher’s www.crossref.org/documentation/retrieve-metadata/rest-api

  • arXiv Cornell University

    The abstracts of articles that have an arXiv version, shown under arXiv’s CC0 metadata licence.

    Metadata CC0 1.0 Credit : “Thank you to arXiv for use of its open access interoperability.” arxiv.org

  • Tides and Water Levels (tutorial) NOAA National Ocean Service

    Why the Moon raises two tidal bulges, the Sun’s share (about half the Moon’s) and spring tides.

    Public domain (U.S. Government work) oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_tides

Library: photographs

  • NASA Image and Video Library NASA

    Photographs of the Moon on the Photos shelf (Apollo, Lunar Orbiter, Artemis II, LRO): image links, date and credit, read by tools/import_photos.py.

    Public domain (US Government work); third-party items excluded Credit : “NASA” images.nasa.gov

  • NASA Images and Media Usage Guidelines NASA

    The rules we follow for NASA photos: generally not under copyright in the US, no endorsement implied, no insignia, no third-party content.

    Public domain (US Government work) www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media

  • Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Foundation and its contributors

    Photographs of the Moon taken from Earth and some mission frames, each under its own free licence (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA), credited on its page.

    Per file: public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA commons.wikimedia.org

Library: history

  • The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts James P. Allen · SBL Press (Writings from the Ancient World)

    The History shelf’s Khonsu story: the date of King Unis, his “Cannibal Hymn” (Spell 180, PT 273–274) and the glossary entry linking the crescent Moon to the god Khonsu.

    © SBL Press (cited, not reproduced) doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt14jxv34

  • Ancient Records of Egypt, vols. III and IV (1906) James Henry Breasted · University of Chicago Press

    The History shelf’s Khonsu story: the Bentresh stela (vol. III, §§429–447) and its late date, the Theban triad Amun, Mut and Khonsu, and Ramesses III’s temple of Khonsu (vol. IV).

    Public domain (1906) archive.org/details/ancientrecordsof03brea

  • Khonsu pendant (65.194.1) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

    A gold pendant of Khonsu, New Kingdom (ca. 1300–1080 BCE): proof that people wore the Moon god, in the Khonsu story.

    CC0 (Met Open Access) www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/545874

  • Khonsu amulet (23.10.25) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

    A Late Period amulet of Khonsu (664–380 BCE), in the Khonsu story.

    CC0 (Met Open Access) www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/561529

  • Travels through the Interior Parts of North-America, in the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768 (London, 1778) Jonathan Carver · digitised by the University of Pittsburgh Library and the Internet Archive

    One of the oldest printed lists of lunar month names in North America (chapter IV, pp. 250–252), in the story of the full-moon names.

    Public domain (1778) archive.org/details/travelsthroughin00incarv

  • Full Moon Names The Old Farmer’s Almanac

    What the almanac says of its own list of moon names (sources, a name for a whole lunar month, the Wolf Moon’s English origin, its definition of the Harvest Moon).

    © Yankee Publishing (link only) www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-names

  • Full Moon Names Farmers’ Almanac (Lewiston, Maine)

    The almanac’s own account of where the names come from, and its statement that almanacs have printed them since the 1930s.

    © Almanac Publishing Co. (link only) www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-names

  • Introduction to Calendars U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department

    Solar, lunar and lunisolar calendars, the 19-year Metonic cycle (235 lunar months), the Islamic and Hebrew calendars, in the story of lunar calendars.

    Public domain (U.S. Government work) aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/calendars

  • The Date of Easter U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department

    The ecclesiastical rules of Easter (Nicaea, tables, 21 March, ecclesiastical full moon, 22 March–25 April), in the story of lunar calendars.

    Public domain (U.S. Government work) aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/easter

  • Rules for the Chinese Calendar Yuk Tung Liu

    The rules of the modern Chinese calendar (new moon, winter solstice in month 11, leap month without a major solar term, 1645 reform) and the mean lengths of the month and the year.

    © Yuk Tung Liu (link only) ytliu0.github.io/ChineseCalendar/rules.html

  • Calendar, History of — The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906) Funk & Wagnalls · JewishEncyclopedia.com

    Hillel II’s publication of the calendar rules (359 CE by later tradition) and the doubled month of Adar in leap years.

    Public domain (1906) www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3920-calendar-history-of

  • The Face of the Moon: Galileo to Apollo Linda Hall Library (William B. Ashworth Jr.)

    Galileo’s first drawings and the Sidereus Nuncius, Hevelius’s Selenographia and the Riccioli–Grimaldi map of 1651, in the story of the first Moon maps.

    © Linda Hall Library (link only) www.lindahall.org/experience/digital-exhibitions/the-face-of-the-moon

  • Scientist of the Day — Thomas Harriot Linda Hall Library (William B. Ashworth Jr.)

    Harriot’s telescopic sketch of the Moon on 26 July 1609, and his unpublished map.

    © Linda Hall Library (link only) www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/thomas-harriot

  • The Galileo Project — The Moon Albert Van Helden · Rice University

    Harriot and Galileo, the longitude problem behind the first maps, Van Langren’s map of 1645 and Hevelius’s Selenographia of 1647.

    © Rice University (link only) web.archive.org/web/20250506082720/http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/observations/moon.html

  • The Galileo Project — Langren, Michael Florent van Richard S. Westfall · Rice University

    Van Langren, royal cosmographer to the King of Spain, and the patrons he named on his Moon map.

    © Rice University (link only) web.archive.org/web/20250211123350/http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/langren.html

  • The Apollo Program (1963–1972) NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (David R. Williams)

    Every Apollo flight to the Moon with its dates and landing site, Apollo 1 and Apollo 13, and the surface experiments, in the Apollo story.

    Public domain (U.S. Government work) nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo.html

  • The Apollo Program NASA

    The twelve astronauts who walked on the Moon and their roles, in the Apollo story.

    Public domain (NASA) www.nasa.gov/the-apollo-program

  • Lunar Rocks and Soils from Apollo Missions NASA Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office (Johnson Space Center)

    The Apollo samples: 382 kg, about 2,200 samples from six sites, still lent to researchers, and what they taught us.

    Public domain (NASA) curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar

Missions: follow-up sources

Software and type

Maintainers

They review every suggestion, and answer for what is published.

The code

All of Khonsu — code, data pipeline, tests — is open.

The repository

Code AGPL-3.0 · texts CC BY 4.0 · data: the licence of their source