General Moon Information

The Moon is Earth’s nearest neighbor in space. It is the only other heavenly body that has been visited by both humans and spacecrafts.

Basic Facts

Average Distance From Earth	238,857 miles (384,403 km)
Diameter	2,160 miles (3,476 km) (about ¼ of Earth’s diameter)
Mass	1/81 of Earth’s mass
Day	About 29 ½ Earth days
Temperature Day and Night	Day: 261º F (127º C) Night: -279º F (-173º C)
Gravity	Multiply your weight by .17

What is the Moon made of?

One thing is for certain; the Moon is not made of cheese. There are still many questions about the surface, though. Scientists know about the Moon’s surface from samples that Apollo 11 astronauts brought back from their mission. From the samples, scientists have learned that Moon soil is made from tiny particles of ground-up rock, bits of glass, and scattered chunks of rock. The soil is usually 5 to 20 feet deep.

The dark areas we see on the Moon are called maria that were formed billions of years ago by lava flow. There are many craters made by meteorites.

Can you breathe on the Moon?

The Moon has no atmosphere, so there is no air to breathe. You need a spacesuit to provide you with the oxygen you need. Since there is no atmosphere there is no weather or wind erosion. The footprints left by Apollo astronauts will be visible for thousands of years to come.

Quick Facts

Largest Sea: Mare Imbrium, Diameter = 1,300 km (800 miles)

Largest Crater: Bailly, Diameter = 295 km (183 miles)

Deepest Crater: Newton, Depth = 8.85 km (5.5 miles)

Timeline

March 1840	First photograph of the Moon.
January 2, 1959	Soviet Luna 1 is the first probe to fly by the Moon.
September 13, 1954	Soviet Luna 2 is the first probe to land on the Moon, crash landing.
January 31, 1966	Soviet Luna 9, the first probe to soft-land on the Moon, is launched.
December 25, 1968	American Apollo 8 makes the first manned flight around the Moon.
July 20, 1969	American Apollo 11 makes the first manned landing on the Moon.
July 21, 1969	American Neil Armstrong is the first person to walk on the Moon.
December 1972	American Eugene Cernan, of Apollo 17, is the last person on the Moon (so far)!
February 21, 1994	American Clementine spacecraft goes into orbit around the Moon.

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Space: Today, Tomorrow, and Always

Novi Meadows Elementary School 2001

Unless otherwise noted, all images courtesy of NASA. Permission for use at http://www.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/guideline.html.

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