One of the oddest features on the Moon is a 40-mile-long tadpole. It’s much lighter than the surrounding landscape. And it has its own magnetic field, which is stronger than the Moon’s overall field. Reiner Gamma is in the Ocean of Storms — a giant basin paved with volcanic rock. Reiner Gamma is one of the most famous features on the entire Moon — and one of the least understood. Scientists don’t know just what it is, how it formed, or how its magnetic field is generated. It could be the impact site of a comet, although that’s one of several possible explanations. Scientists may be able to explain Reiner Gamma before too long, though. NASA’s planning to send a mission there in the next two or three years. Known as Lunar Vertex, it’ll consist of a lander and a rover. The lander will map the area with cameras, and measure details about the magnetic field. The rover will trundle at least a third of a mile away — well outside any contamination from the lander’s rocket engine. It, too, will
