The Moon (or Luna) is the Earth’s only natural satellite and was formed 4.6 billion years ago around some 30–50 million years after the formation of the solar system. The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth meaning the same side is always facing the Earth. The first unmanned mission to the Moon was in 1959 by the Soviet Lunar Program with the first manned landing being Apollo 11 in 1969.
Moon Profile
- Circumference at Equator: 10,917.0 km
- Diameter: 3,475 km
- Mass: 73,476,730,924,573,500 million kg (0.0123 x Earth)
- Average Distance from Earth: 384,400 km
- Length of Orbit: 27.3 Earth days
- Surface Temperature: -233 to 123 °C
Facts about the Moon
- The Moon is moving away from the Earth by approximately 3.8cm a year
- The last manned mission to the Moon was Apollo 17 in 1972 since then it has only be visited by unmanned vehicles
- The Moon is the fifth largest satellite in the solar system
- The Moons diameter is a quarter of the Earth’s (3,475 km compared to 12,742 km)
- The dark side of the moon is a myth, in reality both sides of the Moon see the same amount of Sun however only one side is ever visible from the Earth.
- The Moons gravity is a major factor in the cause of the Earth’s tides.
- The most commonly accepted hypothesis is the Moon was formed by an impact of a Mars sized object with a young Earth.
- In 1985 during the Cold War the USA considered detonating a nuclear bomb on the Moon.
Apollo 17 mission was in 1972, not in 1979.
Fixed, thanks for pointing out
They never landed on the moon its a hoax!
A total of twelve men have landed on the Moon. This was accomplished with two US pilot-astronauts flying a Lunar Module on each of six NASA missions across a 41-month time span starting on 20 July 1969 UTC, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11, and ending on 14 December 1972 UTC with Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt on Apollo 17. Cernan was the last to step off the lunar surface.
All Apollo lunar missions had a third crew member who remained on board the Command Module. The last three missions had a rover for increased mobility.
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Jack Your an idiot they landed on the moon 13 times