A satellite or an artificial satellite[a] is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation (GPS), broadcasting, scientific research, and Earth observation. Additional military uses are reconnaissance, early warning, signals intelligence and, potentially, weapon delivery. Other satellites include the final rocket stages that place satellites in orbit and formerly useful satellites that later become defunct.
Spaceships become satellites by accelerating or decelerating to reach orbital velocities, occupying an orbit high enough to avoid orbital decay due to drag in the presence of an atmosphere and above their Roche limit. Satellites are spacecraft launched from the surface into space by launch systems. Satellites can then change or maintain their orbit by propulsion, usually by chemical or ion thrusters. As of 2018, about 90% of the satellites orbiting the Earth are in low Earth orbit or geostationary orbit; geostationary means the satellites stay still in the sky (relative to a fixed point on the ground). Some imaging satellites choose a Sun-synchronous orbit because they can scan the entire globe with similar lighting. As the number of satellites and amount of space debris around Earth increases, the threat of collision has become more severe. An orbiter is a spacecraft that is designed to perform an orbital insertion, entering orbit around an astronomical body from another,[1] and as such becoming an artificial satellite. A small number of satellites orbit other bodies (such as the Moon, Mars, and the Sun) or many bodies at once (two for a halo orbit, three for a Lissajous orbit).
The first artificial satellite launched into the Earth’s orbit was the Soviet Union‘s Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957. As of December 31, 2022, there are 6,718 operational satellites in the Earth’s orbit, of which 4,529 belong to the United States (3,996 commercial), 590 belong to China, 174 belong to Russia, and 1,425 belong to other nations.[2]
In 1903, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) published Exploring Space Using Jet Propulsion Devices, which was the first academic treatise on the use of rocketry to launch spacecraft. He calculated the orbital speed required for a minimal orbit, and inferred that a multi-stage rocket fueled by liquid propellants could achieve this.
Herman Potočnik explored the idea of using orbiting spacecraft for detailed peaceful and military observation of the ground in his 1928 book, The Problem of Space Travel. He described how the special conditions of space could be useful for scientific experiments. The book described geostationary satellites (first put forward by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky) and discussed the communication between them and the ground using radio, but fell short with the idea of using satellites for mass broadcasting and as telecommunications relays.[5]
In a 1945 Wireless World article, English science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke described in detail the possible use of communications satellites for mass communications. He suggested that three geostationary satellites would provide coverage over the entire planet.[6]: 1–2
In May 1946, the United States Air Force‘s Project RAND released the Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship, which stated “A satellite vehicle with appropriate instrumentation can be expected to be one of the most potent scientific tools of the Twentieth Century.”[7] The United States had been considering launching orbital satellites since 1945 under the Bureau of Aeronautics of the United States Navy. Project RAND eventually released the report, but considered the satellite to be a tool for science, politics, and propaganda, rather than a potential military weapon.[8]
In February 1954, Project RAND released “Scientific Uses for a Satellite Vehicle”, by R. R. Carhart.[10] This expanded on potential scientific uses for satellite vehicles and was followed in June 1955 with “The Scientific Use of an Artificial Satellite”, by H. K. Kallmann and W. W. Kellogg.[11]
The first artificial satellite was Sputnik 1, launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 under the Sputnik program, with Sergei Korolev as chief designer. Sputnik 1 helped to identify the density of high atmospheric layers through measurement of its orbital change and provided data on radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1’s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the so-called Space Race within the Cold War.
In the context of activities planned for the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958), the White House announced on 29 July 1955 that the U.S. intended to launch satellites by the spring of 1958. This became known as Project Vanguard. On 31 July, the Soviet Union announced its intention to launch a satellite by the fall of 1957.
Sputnik 2 was launched on 3 November 1957 and carried the first living passenger into orbit, a dog named Laika.[12] The dog was sent without possibility of return.
While Canada was the third country to build a satellite which was launched into space,[17] it was launched aboard an American rocket from an American spaceport. The same goes for Australia, whose launch of the first satellite involved a donated U.S. Redstone rocket and American support staff as well as a joint launch facility with the United Kingdom.[18] The first Italian satellite San Marco 1 was launched on 15 December 1964 on a U.S. Scout rocket from Wallops Island (Virginia, United States) with an Italian launch team trained by NASA.[19] In similar occasions, almost all further first national satellites were launched by foreign rockets.[citation needed]
France was the third country to launch a satellite on its own rocket. On 26 November 1965, the Astérix or A-1 (initially conceptualized as FR.2 or FR-2), was put into orbit by a Diamant A rocket launched from the CIEES site at Hammaguir, Algeria. With Astérix, France became the sixth country to have an artificial satellite.
Early satellites were built to unique designs. With advancements in technology, multiple satellites began to be built on single model platforms called satellite buses. The first standardized satellite bus design was the HS-333geosynchronous (GEO) communication satellite launched in 1972. Beginning in 1997, FreeFlyer is a commercial off-the-shelf software application for satellite mission analysis, design, and operations.
After the late 2010s, and especially after the advent and operational fielding of large satellite internet constellations—where on-orbit active satellites more than doubled over a period of five years—the companies building the constellations began to propose regular planned deorbiting of the older satellites that reached the end of life, as a part of the regulatory process of obtaining a launch license.[citation needed] The largest artificial satellite ever is the International Space Station.[20]
By the early 2000s, and particularly after the advent of CubeSats and increased launches of microsats—frequently launched to the lower altitudes of low Earth orbit (LEO)—satellites began to more frequently be designed to get destroyed, or breakup and burnup entirely in the atmosphere.[21] For example, SpaceXStarlink satellites, the first large satellite internet constellation to exceed 1000 active satellites on orbit in 2020, are designed to be 100% demisable and burn up completely on their atmospheric reentry at the end of their life, or in the event of an early satellite failure.[22]
Japan’s space agency (JAXA) and NASA plan to send a wooden satellite prototype called LingoSat into orbit in the summer of 2024. They have been working on this project for few years and sent first wood samples to the space in 2021 to test the material’s resilience to space conditions.[24]
Most satellites use chemical or ion propulsion to adjust or maintain their orbit,[6]: 78 coupled with reaction wheels to control their three axis of rotation or attitude. Satellites close to Earth are affected the most by variations in the Earth’s magnetic, gravitational field and the Sun’s radiation pressure; satellites that are further away are affected more by other bodies’ gravitational field by the Moon and the Sun. Satellites utilize ultra-white reflective coatings to prevent damage from UV radiation.[25] Without orbit and orientation control, satellites in orbit will not be able to communicate with ground stations on the Earth.[6]: 75–76
Chemical thrusters on satellites usually use monopropellant (one-part) or bipropellant (two-parts) that are hypergolic. Hypergolic means able to combust spontaneously when in contact with each other or to a catalyst. The most commonly used propellant mixtures on satellites are hydrazine-based monopropellants or monomethylhydrazine–dinitrogen tetroxide bipropellants. Ion thrusters on satellites usually are Hall-effect thrusters, which generate thrust by accelerating positive ions through a negatively-charged grid. Ion propulsion is more efficient propellant-wise than chemical propulsion but its thrust is very small (around 0.5 N or 0.1 lbf), and thus requires a longer burn time. The thrusters usually use xenon because it is inert, can be easily ionized, has a high atomic mass and storable as a high-pressure liquid.[6]: 78–79
Most satellites use solar panels to generate power, and a few in deep space with limited sunlight use radioisotope thermoelectric generators. Slip rings attach solar panels to the satellite; the slip rings can rotate to be perpendicular with the sunlight and generate the most power. All satellites with a solar panel must also have batteries, because sunlight is blocked inside the launch vehicle and at night. The most common types of batteries for satellites are lithium-ion, and in the past nickel–hydrogen.[6]: 88–89
Earth observation satellites are designed to monitor and survey the Earth, called remote sensing. Most Earth observation satellites are placed in low Earth orbit for a high data resolution, though some are placed in a geostationary orbit for an uninterrupted coverage. Some satellites are placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit to have consistent lighting and obtain a total view of the Earth. Depending on the satellites’ functions, they might have a normal camera, radar, lidar, photometer, or atmospheric instruments. Earth observation satellite’s data is most used in archaeology, cartography, environmental monitoring, meteorology, and reconnaissance applications.[citation needed] As of 2021, there are over 950 Earth observation satellites, with the largest number of satellites operated with Planet Labs.[26]
Weather satellites monitor clouds, city lights, fires, effects of pollution, auroras, sand and dust storms, snow cover, ice mapping, boundaries of ocean currents, energy flows, etc. Environmental monitoring satellites can detect changes in the Earth’s vegetation, atmospheric trace gas content, sea state, ocean color, and ice fields. By monitoring vegetation changes over time, droughts can be monitored by comparing the current vegetation state to its long term average.[27] Anthropogenic emissions can be monitored by evaluating data of tropospheric NO2 and SO2.[citation needed]
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications.[28] Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit 22,236 miles (35,785 km) above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite. Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently.The radio waves used for telecommunications links travel by line of sight and so are obstructed by the curve of the Earth. The purpose of communications satellites is to relay the signal around the curve of the Earth allowing communication between widely separated geographical points.[29] Communications satellites use a wide range of radio and microwavefrequencies. To avoid signal interference, international organizations have regulations for which frequency ranges or “bands” certain organizations are allowed to use. This allocation of bands minimizes the risk of signal interference.[30]
When an Earth observation satellite or a communications satellite is deployed for military or intelligence purposes, it is known as a spy satellite or reconnaissance satellite.
Their uses include early missile warning, nuclear explosion detection, electronic reconnaissance, and optical or radar imaging surveillance.
Navigational satellites are satellites that use radio time signals transmitted to enable mobile receivers on the ground to determine their exact location. The relatively clear line of sight between the satellites and receivers on the ground, combined with ever-improving electronics, allows satellite navigation systems to measure location to accuracies on the order of a few meters in real time.
Tether satellites are satellites that are connected to another satellite by a thin cable called a tether. Recovery satellites are satellites that provide a recovery of reconnaissance, biological, space-production and other payloads from orbit to Earth. Biosatellites are satellites designed to carry living organisms, generally for scientific experimentation. Space-based solar power satellites are proposed satellites that would collect energy from sunlight and transmit it for use on Earth or other places.[citation needed]
Since the mid-2000s, satellites have been hacked by militant organizations to broadcast propaganda and to pilfer classified information from military communication networks.[32][33] For testing purposes, satellites in low earth orbit have been destroyed by ballistic missiles launched from the Earth. Russia, United States, China and India have demonstrated the ability to eliminate satellites.[34] In 2007, the Chinese military shot down an aging weather satellite,[34] followed by the US Navy shooting down a defunct spy satellite in February 2008.[35] On 18 November 2015, after two failed attempts, Russia successfully carried out a flight test of an anti-satellite missile known as Nudol.[citation needed] On 27 March 2019, India shot down a live test satellite at 300 km altitude in 3 minutes, becoming the fourth country to have the capability to destroy live satellites.[36][37]
The environmental impact of satellites is not currently well understood as they were previously assumed to be benign due to the rarity of satellite launches. However, the exponential increase and projected growth of satellite launches are bringing the issue into consideration. The main issues are resource use and the release of pollutants into the atmosphere which can happen at different stages of a satellite’s lifetime.
Resource use is difficult to monitor and quantify for satellites and launch vehicles due to their commercially sensitive nature. However, aluminium is a preferred metal in satellite construction due to its lightweight and relative cheapness and typically constitutes around 40% of a satellite’s mass.[38] Through mining and refining, aluminium has numerous negative environmental impacts and is one of the most carbon-intensive metals.[39] Satellite manufacturing also requires rare elements such as lithium, gold, and gallium, some of which have significant environmental consequences linked to their mining and processing and/or are in limited supply.[40][41][42] Launch vehicles require larger amounts of raw materials to manufacture and the booster stages are usually dropped into the ocean after fuel exhaustion. They are not normally recovered.[40] Two empty boosters used for Ariane 5, which were composed mainly of steel, weighed around 38 tons each,[43] to give an idea of the quantity of materials that are often left in the ocean.
Rocket launches release numerous pollutants into every layer of the atmosphere, especially affecting the atmosphere above the tropopause where the byproducts of combustion can reside for extended periods.[44] These pollutants can include black carbon, CO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx), aluminium and water vapour, but the mix of pollutants is dependent on rocket design and fuel type.[45] The amount of green house gases emitted by rockets is considered trivial as it contributes significantly less, around 0.01%,[46] than the aviation industry yearly which itself accounts for 2-3% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions.[44]
Rocket emissions in the stratosphere and their effects are only beginning to be studied and it is likely that the impacts will be more critical than emissions in the troposphere.[40] The stratosphere includes the ozone layer and pollutants emitted from rockets can contribute to ozone depletion in a number of ways. Radicals such as NOx, HOx, and ClOx deplete stratospheric O3 through intermolecular reactions and can have huge impacts in trace amounts.[44] However, it is currently understood that launch rates would need to increase by ten times to match the impact of regulated ozone-depleting substances.[47][48] Whilst emissions of water vapour are largely deemed as inert, H2O is the source gas for HOx and can also contribute to ozone loss through the formation of ice particles.[47] Black carbon particles emitted by rockets can absorb solar radiation in the stratosphere and cause warming in the surrounding air which can then impact the circulatory dynamics of the stratosphere.[49] Both warming and changes in circulation can then cause depletion of the ozone layer.
Several pollutants are released in the upper atmospheric layers during the orbital lifetime of LEO satellites.Orbital decay is caused by atmospheric drag and to keep the satellite in the correct orbit the platform occasionally needs repositioning. To do this nozzle-based systems use a chemical propellant to create thrust. In most cases hydrazine is the chemical propellant used which then releases ammonia, hydrogen and nitrogen as gas into the upper atmosphere.[44] Also, the environment of the outer atmosphere causes the degradation of exterior materials. The atomic oxygen in the upper atmosphere oxidises hydrocarbon-based polymers like Kapton, Teflon and Mylar that are used to insulate and protect the satellite which then emits gasses like CO2 and CO into the atmosphere.[50]
Given the current surge in satellites in the sky, soon hundreds of satellites may be clearly visible to the human eye at dark sites. It is estimated that the overall levels of diffuse brightness of the night skies has increased by up to 10% above natural levels.[51] This has the potential to confuse organisms, like insects and night-migrating birds, that use celestial patterns for migration and orientation.[52][53] The impact this might have is currently unclear. The visibility of man-made objects in the night sky may also impact people’s linkages with the world, nature, and culture.[54]
At all points of a satellite’s lifetime, its movement and processes are monitored on the ground through a network of facilities. The environmental cost of the infrastructure as well as day-to-day operations is likely to be quite high,[40] but quantification requires further investigation.
When in a controlled manner satellites reach the end of life they are intentionally deorbited or moved to a graveyard orbit further away from Earth in order to reduce space debris. Physical collection or removal is not economical or even currently possible. Moving satellites out to a graveyard orbit is also unsustainable because they remain there for hundreds of years.[40] It will lead to the further pollution of space and future issues with space debris. When satellites deorbit much of it is destroyed during re-entry into the atmosphere due to the heat. This introduces more material and pollutants into the atmosphere.[38][55] There have been concerns expressed about the potential damage to the ozone layer and the possibility of increasing the earth’s albedo, reducing warming but also resulting in accidental geoengineering of the earth’s climate.[40] After deorbiting 70% of satellites end up in the ocean and are rarely recovered.[44]
The growth of all tracked objects in space over time[57]
Space debris pose dangers to the spacecraft[58][59] (including satellites)[59][60] in or crossing geocentric orbits and have the potential to drive a Kessler syndrome[61] which could potentially curtail humanity from conducting space endeavors in the future.[62][63]
With increase in the number of satellite constellations, like SpaceXStarlink, the astronomical community, such as the IAU, report that orbital pollution is getting increased significantly.[64][65][66][67][68] A report from the SATCON1 workshop in 2020 concluded that the effects of large satellite constellations can severely affect some astronomical research efforts and lists six ways to mitigate harm to astronomy.[69][70] The IAU is establishing a center (CPS) to coordinate or aggregate measures to mitigate such detrimental effects.[71][72][73]
Due to the low received signal strength of satellite transmissions, they are prone to jamming by land-based transmitters. Such jamming is limited to the geographical area within the transmitter’s range. GPS satellites are potential targets for jamming,[74][75] but satellite phone and television signals have also been subjected to jamming.[76][77]
Also, it is very easy to transmit a carrier radio signal to a geostationary satellite and thus interfere with the legitimate uses of the satellite’s transponder. It is common for Earth stations to transmit at the wrong time or on the wrong frequency in commercial satellite space, and dual-illuminate the transponder, rendering the frequency unusable. Satellite operators now have sophisticated monitoring tools and methods that enable them to pinpoint the source of any carrier and manage the transponder space effectively. [citation needed]
Issues like space debris, radio and light pollution are increasing in magnitude and at the same time lack progress in national or international regulation.[78][57]
Orbital launch and satellite operation Satellite operation, launched by foreign supplier Satellite in development Orbital launch project at advanced stage or indigenous ballistic missiles deployed
The operation capabilities and use have very much diversified and is broadening increasingly.
Satellite operation needs not only access to financial, manufacturing and launch capabilities, but also a ground segment infrastructure.
The lunar surface is covered in lunar dust and marked by mountains, impact craters, their ejecta, ray-like streaks, rilles and, mostly on the near side of the Moon, by dark maria (‘seas’), which are plains of cooled lava. These maria were formed when molten lava flowed into ancient impact basins. The Moon is, except when passing through Earth’s shadow during a lunar eclipse, always illuminated by the Sun, but from Earth the visible illumination shifts during its orbit, producing the lunar phases.[18] The Moon is the brightest celestial object in Earth’s night sky. This is mainly due to its large angular diameter, while the reflectance of the lunar surface is comparable to that of asphalt. The apparent size is nearly the same as that of the Sun, allowing it to cover the Sun completely during a total solar eclipse. From Earth about 59% of the lunar surface is visible due to cyclical shifts in perspective (libration), making parts of the far side of the Moon visible.
The English proper name for Earth’s natural satellite is typically written as Moon, with a capital M.[19][20] The noun moon is derived from Old Englishmōna, which stems from Proto-Germanic*mēnōn,[21] which in turn comes from Proto-Indo-European*mēnsis ‘month’[22] (from earlier *mēnōt, genitive *mēneses) which may be related to the verb ‘measure’ (of time).[23]
Occasionally, the name Luna/ˈluːnə/ is used in scientific writing[24] and especially in science fiction to distinguish the Earth’s moon from others, while in poetry “Luna” has been used to denote personification of the Moon.[25]Cynthia/ˈsɪnθiə/ is a rare poetic name for the Moon personified as a goddess,[26] while Selene/səˈliːniː/ (literally ‘Moon’) is the Greek goddess of the Moon.
The English adjective pertaining to the Moon is lunar, derived from the Latin word for the Moon, lūna. Selenian/səliːniən/[27] is an adjective used to describe the Moon as a world, rather than as a celestial object,[28] but its use is rare. It is derived from σελήνη selēnē, the Greek word for the Moon, and its cognate selenic was originally a rare synonym[29] but now nearly always refers to the chemical element selenium.[30] The element name selenium and the prefix seleno- (as in selenography, the study of the physical features of the Moon) come from this Greek word.[31][32]
Artemis, the Greek goddess of the wilderness and the hunt, also came to be identified with Selene, and was sometimes called Cynthia after her birthplace on Mount Cynthus.[33] Her Roman equivalent is Diana. The names Luna, Cynthia, and Selene are reflected in technical terms for lunar orbits such as apolune, pericynthion and selenocentric.
The astronomical symbols for the Moon are the crescent and decrescent , for example in M☾ ‘lunar mass’.
The lunar geological periods are named after their characteristic features, from most impact craters outside the dark mare, to the mare and later craters, and finally the young, still bright and therefore readily visible craters with ray systems like Copernicus or Tycho.
Isotope dating of lunar samples suggests the Moon formed around 50 million years after the origin of the Solar System.[36][37] Historically, several formation mechanisms have been proposed,[38] but none satisfactorily explains the features of the Earth–Moon system. A fission of the Moon from Earth’s crust through centrifugal force[39] would require too great an initial rotation rate of Earth.[40] Gravitational capture of a pre-formed Moon[41] depends on an unfeasibly extended atmosphere of Earth to dissipate the energy of the passing Moon.[40] A co-formation of Earth and the Moon together in the primordialaccretion disk does not explain the depletion of metals in the Moon.[40] None of these hypotheses can account for the high angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system.[42]
The prevailing theory is that the Earth–Moon system formed after a giant impact of a Mars-sized body (named Theia) with the proto-Earth. The oblique impact blasted material into orbit about the Earth and the material accreted and formed the Moon[43][44] just beyond the Earth’s Roche limit of ~2.56 R🜨.[45]
Giant impacts are thought to have been common in the early Solar System. Computer simulations of giant impacts have produced results that are consistent with the mass of the lunar core and the angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system. These simulations show that most of the Moon derived from the impactor, rather than the proto-Earth.[46] However, models from 2007 and later suggest a larger fraction of the Moon derived from the proto-Earth.[47][48][49][50] Other bodies of the inner Solar System such as Mars and Vesta have, according to meteorites from them, very different oxygen and tungsten isotopic compositions compared to Earth. However, Earth and the Moon have nearly identical isotopic compositions. The isotopic equalization of the Earth–Moon system might be explained by the post-impact mixing of the vaporized material that formed the two,[51] although this is debated.[52]
The impact would have released enough energy to liquefy both the ejecta and the Earth’s crust, forming a magma ocean. The liquefied ejecta could have then re-accreted into the Earth–Moon system.[53][54] The newly formed Moon would have had its own magma ocean; its depth is estimated from about 500 km (300 miles) to 1,737 km (1,079 miles).[53]
While the giant-impact theory explains many lines of evidence, some questions are still unresolved, most of which involve the Moon’s composition.[55] Models that have the Moon acquiring a significant amount of the proto-earth are more difficult to reconcile with geochemical data for the isotopes of zirconium, oxygen, silicon, and other elements.[56] A study published in 2022, using high-resolution simulations (up to 108 particles), found that giant impacts can immediately place a satellite with similar mass and iron content to the Moon into orbit far outside Earth’s Roche limit. Even satellites that initially pass within the Roche limit can reliably and predictably survive, by being partially stripped and then torqued onto wider, stable orbits.[57]
On November 1, 2023, scientists reported that, according to computer simulations, remnants of Theia could still be present inside the Earth.[58][59]
Natural development
Artist’s depiction of the Moon as it might have appeared in Earth’s sky after the Late Heavy Bombardment around 4 billion years ago. At that time the Moon orbited the Earth at half its current distance, making it appear 2.8 times larger than it does today.[60]
The newly formed Moon settled into a much closer Earth orbit than it has today. Each body therefore appeared much larger in the sky of the other, eclipses were more frequent, and tidal effects were stronger.[60] Due to tidal acceleration, the Moon’s orbit around Earth has become significantly larger, with a longer period.[61]
Following formation, the Moon has cooled and most of its atmosphere has been stripped.[62] The lunar surface has since been shaped by large impact events and many small ones, forming a landscape featuring craters of all ages.
The Moon was volcanically active until 1.2 billion years ago, which laid down the prominent lunar maria. Most of the mare basalts erupted during the Imbrian period, 3.3–3.7 billion years ago, though some are as young as 1.2 billion years[63] and some as old as 4.2 billion years.[64] There are differing explanations for the eruption of mare basalts, particularly their uneven occurrence which mainly appear on the near-side. Causes of the distribution of the lunar highlands on the far side are also not well understood. Topological measurements show the near side crust is thinner than the far side. One possible scenario then is that large impacts on the near side may have made it easier for lava to flow onto the surface.[65]
Physical characteristics
The Moon is a very slightly scalene ellipsoid due to tidal stretching, with its long axis displaced 30° from facing the Earth, due to gravitational anomalies from impact basins. Its shape is more elongated than current tidal forces can account for. This ‘fossil bulge’ indicates that the Moon solidified when it orbited at half its current distance to the Earth, and that it is now too cold for its shape to restore hydrostatic equilibrium at its current orbital distance.[66]
Size comparison of the main moons of the Solar System with Earth to scale. Nineteen moons are large enough to be round, several having subsurface oceans and one, Titan, having a considerable atmosphere.
The Moon is by size and mass the fifth largest natural satellite of the Solar System, categorizable as one of its planetary-mass moons, making it a satellite planet under the geophysical definitions of the term.[17] It is smaller than Mercury and considerably larger than the largest dwarf planet of the Solar System, Pluto. The Moon is the largest natural satellite in the Solar System relative to its primary planet.[f][g][67]
The Moon’s diameter is about 3,500 km, more than one-quarter of Earth’s, with the face of the Moon comparable to the width of either mainland Australia,[68] Europe or the contiguous United States.[69] The whole surface area of the Moon is about 38 million square kilometers, comparable to that of the Americas.[70][71]
The Moon’s mass is 1⁄81 of Earth’s,[72] being the second densest among the planetary moons, and having the second highest surface gravity, after Io, at 0.1654 g and an escape velocity of 2.38 km/s (8600 km/h; 5300 mph).
Moon’s internal structure: solid inner core (iron-metallic), molten outer core, hardened mantle and crust. The crust on the Moon’s near side permanently facing Earth is thinner, featuring larger areas flooded by material of the once molten mantle forming today’s lunar mare.
The Moon is a differentiated body that was initially in hydrostatic equilibrium but has since departed from this condition.[73] It has a geochemically distinct crust, mantle, and core. The Moon has a solid iron-rich inner core with a radius possibly as small as 240 kilometres (150 mi) and a fluid outer core primarily made of liquid iron with a radius of roughly 300 kilometres (190 mi). Around the core is a partially molten boundary layer with a radius of about 500 kilometres (310 mi).[74][75] This structure is thought to have developed through the fractional crystallization of a global magma ocean shortly after the Moon’s formation 4.5 billion years ago.[76]
Crystallization of this magma ocean would have created a mafic mantle from the precipitation and sinking of the minerals olivine, clinopyroxene, and orthopyroxene; after about three-quarters of the magma ocean had crystallized, lower-density plagioclase minerals could form and float into a crust atop.[77] The final liquids to crystallize would have been initially sandwiched between the crust and mantle, with a high abundance of incompatible and heat-producing elements.[1] Consistent with this perspective, geochemical mapping made from orbit suggests a crust of mostly anorthosite.[16] The Moon rock samples of the flood lavas that erupted onto the surface from partial melting in the mantle confirm the mafic mantle composition, which is more iron-rich than that of Earth.[1] The crust is on average about 50 kilometres (31 mi) thick.[1]
The Moon is the second-densest satellite in the Solar System, after Io.[78] However, the inner core of the Moon is small, with a radius of about 350 kilometres (220 mi) or less,[1] around 20% of the radius of the Moon. Its composition is not well understood but is probably metallic iron alloyed with a small amount of sulfur and nickel analyses of the Moon’s time-variable rotation suggest that it is at least partly molten.[79] The pressure at the lunar core is estimated to be 5 GPa (49,000 atm).[80]
Gravitational field
Astronaut John Young jumping on the Moon, illustrating that the gravitational pull of the Moon is approximately 1/6 of Earth’s. The jumping height is limited by the EVA space suit’s weight on the Moon of about 13.6 kg (30 lb) and by the suit’s pressurization resisting the bending of the suit, as needed for jumping.[81][82]
On average the Moon’s surface gravity is 1.62 m/s2[4] (0.1654 g; 5.318 ft/s2), about half of the surface gravity of Mars and about a sixth of Earth’s.
The Moon’s gravitational field is not uniform. The details of the gravitational field have been measured through tracking the Doppler shift of radio signals emitted by orbiting spacecraft. The main lunar gravity features are mascons, large positive gravitational anomalies associated with some of the giant impact basins, partly caused by the dense mare basaltic lava flows that fill those basins.[83][84] The anomalies greatly influence the orbit of spacecraft about the Moon. There are some puzzles: lava flows by themselves cannot explain all of the gravitational signature, and some mascons exist that are not linked to mare volcanism.[85]
Magnetic field
The Moon has an external magnetic field of less than 0.2 nanoteslas,[86] or less than one hundred thousandth that of Earth. The Moon does not have a global dipolar magnetic field and only has crustal magnetization likely acquired early in its history when a dynamo was still operating.[87][88] Early in its history, 4 billion years ago, its magnetic field strength was likely close to that of Earth today.[86] This early dynamo field apparently expired by about one billion years ago, after the lunar core had crystallized.[86] Theoretically, some of the remnant magnetization may originate from transient magnetic fields generated during large impacts through the expansion of plasma clouds. These clouds are generated during large impacts in an ambient magnetic field. This is supported by the location of the largest crustal magnetizations situated near the antipodes of the giant impact basins.[89]
The Moon has an atmosphere consisting of only an exosphere,[94] which is so tenuous as to be nearly vacuum, with a total mass of less than 10 tonnes (9.8 long tons; 11 short tons).[95] The surface pressure of this small mass is around 3 × 10−15atm (0.3 nPa); it varies with the lunar day. Its sources include outgassing and sputtering, a product of the bombardment of lunar soil by solar wind ions.[16][96] Elements that have been detected include sodium and potassium, produced by sputtering (also found in the atmospheres of Mercury and Io); helium-4 and neon[97] from the solar wind; and argon-40, radon-222, and polonium-210, outgassed after their creation by radioactive decay within the crust and mantle.[98][99] The absence of such neutral species (atoms or molecules) as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen and magnesium, which are present in the regolith, is not understood.[98] Water vapor has been detected by Chandrayaan-1 and found to vary with latitude, with a maximum at ~60–70 degrees; it is possibly generated from the sublimation of water ice in the regolith.[100] These gases either return into the regolith because of the Moon’s gravity or are lost to space, either through solar radiation pressure or, if they are ionized, by being swept away by the solar wind’s magnetic field.[98]
Studies of Moon magma samples retrieved by the Apollo missions demonstrate that the Moon had once possessed a relatively thick atmosphere for a period of 70 million years between 3 and 4 billion years ago. This atmosphere, sourced from gases ejected from lunar volcanic eruptions, was twice the thickness of that of present-day Mars. The ancient lunar atmosphere was eventually stripped away by solar winds and dissipated into space.[62]
A permanent Moon dust cloud exists around the Moon, generated by small particles from comets. Estimates are 5 tons of comet particles strike the Moon’s surface every 24 hours, resulting in the ejection of dust particles. The dust stays above the Moon approximately 10 minutes, taking 5 minutes to rise, and 5 minutes to fall. On average, 120 kilograms of dust are present above the Moon, rising up to 100 kilometers above the surface. Dust counts made by LADEE‘s Lunar Dust EXperiment (LDEX) found particle counts peaked during the Geminid, Quadrantid, Northern Taurid, and Omicron Centauridmeteor showers, when the Earth, and Moon pass through comet debris. The lunar dust cloud is asymmetric, being denser near the boundary between the Moon’s dayside and nightside.[101][102]
Surface conditions
Gene Cernan with lunar dust stuck on his suit. Lunar dust is highly abrasive and can cause damage to human lungs and nervous and cardiovascular systems.[103]
Ionizing radiation from cosmic rays, their resulting neutron radiation,[104] and the Sun results in an average radiation level of 1.369 millisieverts per day during lunar daytime,[14] which is about 2.6 times more than the level on the International Space Station, 5–10 times more than the level during a trans-Atlantic flight, and 200 times more than the level on Earth’s surface.[105] For further comparison, radiation levels average about 1.84 millisieverts per day on a flight to Mars and about 0.64 millisieverts per day on Mars itself, with some locations on Mars possibly having levels as low as 0.342 millisieverts per day.[106][107] Solar radiation also electrically charges the highly abrasive lunar dust and makes it levitate. This effect contributes to the easy spread of the sticky, lung- and gear-damaging lunar dust.[108]
The Moon’s axial tilt with respect to the ecliptic is only 1.5427°,[8][109] much less than the 23.44° of Earth. This small axial tilt means that the Moon’s solar illumination varies much less with season than Earth’s, and it also allows for the existence of some peaks of eternal light at the Moon’s north pole, at the rim of the crater Peary.
The lunar surface is exposed to drastic temperature differences ranging from 120 °C to −171 °C depending on the solar irradiance. Because of the lack of atmosphere, temperatures of different areas vary particularly upon whether they are in sunlight or shadow,[110] making topographical details play a decisive role on local surface temperatures.[111] Parts of many craters, particularly the bottoms of many polar craters,[112] are permanently shadowed. These craters of eternal darkness have extremely low temperatures. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter measured the lowest summer temperatures in craters at the southern pole at 35 K (−238 °C; −397 °F)[113] and just 26 K (−247 °C; −413 °F) close to the winter solstice in the north polar crater Hermite. This is the coldest temperature in the Solar System ever measured by a spacecraft, colder even than the surface of Pluto.[111]
Blanketed on top of the Moon’s crust is a highly comminuted (broken into ever smaller particles) and impact gardened mostly gray surface layer called regolith, formed by impact processes. The finer regolith, the lunar soil of silicon dioxide glass, has a texture resembling snow and a scent resembling spent gunpowder.[114] The regolith of older surfaces is generally thicker than for younger surfaces: it varies in thickness from 10–15 m (33–49 ft) in the highlands and 4–5 m (13–16 ft) in the maria.[115] Beneath the finely comminuted regolith layer is the megaregolith, a layer of highly fractured bedrock many kilometers thick.[116]
These extreme conditions are considered to make it unlikely for spacecraft to harbor bacterial spores at the Moon for longer than just one lunar orbit.[117]
The topography of the Moon has been measured with laser altimetry and stereo image analysis.[118] Its most extensive topographic feature is the giant far-side South Pole–Aitken basin, some 2,240 km (1,390 mi) in diameter, the largest crater on the Moon and the second-largest confirmed impact crater in the Solar System.[119][120] At 13 km (8.1 mi) deep, its floor is the lowest point on the surface of the Moon.[119][121] The highest elevations of the Moon’s surface are located directly to the northeast, which might have been thickened by the oblique formation impact of the South Pole–Aitken basin.[122] Other large impact basins such as Imbrium, Serenitatis, Crisium, Smythii, and Orientale possess regionally low elevations and elevated rims.[119] The far side of the lunar surface is on average about 1.9 km (1.2 mi) higher than that of the near side.[1]
The discovery of fault scarp cliffs suggest that the Moon has shrunk by about 90 metres (300 ft) within the past billion years.[123] Similar shrinkage features exist on Mercury. Mare Frigoris, a basin near the north pole long assumed to be geologically dead, has cracked and shifted. Since the Moon does not have tectonic plates, its tectonic activity is slow, and cracks develop as it loses heat.[124]
Scientists have confirmed the presence of a cave on the Moon near the Sea of Tranquillity, not far from the 1969 Apollo 11 landing site. The cave, identified as an entry point to a collapsed lava tube, is roughly 45 meters wide and up to 80 m long. This discovery marks the first confirmed entry point to a lunar cave. The analysis was based on photos taken in 2010 by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The cave’s stable temperature of around 17 °C could provide a hospitable environment for future astronauts, protecting them from extreme temperatures, solar radiation, and micrometeorites. However, challenges include accessibility and risks of avalanches and cave-ins. This discovery offers potential for future lunar bases or emergency shelters.[125]
The names of the main volcanic features, the maria (blue), and of some craters (brown) of the near side of the Moon
The main features visible from Earth by the naked eye are dark and relatively featureless lunar plains called maria (singular mare; Latin for “seas”, as they were once believed to be filled with water)[126] are vast solidified pools of ancient basaltic lava. Although similar to terrestrial basalts, lunar basalts have more iron and no minerals altered by water.[127] The majority of these lava deposits erupted or flowed into the depressions associated with impact basins, though the Moon’s largest expanse of basalt flooding, Oceanus Procellarum, does not correspond to an obvious impact basin. Different episodes of lava flow in maria can often be recognized by variations in surface albedo and distinct flow margins.[128]
As the maria formed, cooling and contraction of the basaltic lava created wrinkle ridges in some areas. These low, sinuous ridges can extend for hundreds of kilometers and often outline buried structures within the mare. Another result of maria formation is the creation of concentric depressions along the edges, known as arcuate rilles. These features occur as the mare basalts sink inward under their own weight, causing the edges to fracture and separate.
In addition to the visible maria, the Moon has mare deposits covered by ejecta from impacts. Called cryptomares, these hidden mares are likely older than the exposed ones.[129] Conversely, mare lava has obscured many impact melt sheets and pools. Impact melts are formed when intense shock pressures from collisions vaporize and melt zones around the impact site. Where still exposed, impact melt can be distinguished from mare lava by its distribution, albedo, and texture.[130]
Sinuous rilles, found in and around maria, are likely extinct lava channels or collapsed lava tubes. They typically originate from volcanic vents, meandering and sometimes branching as they progress. The largest examples, such as Schroter’s Valley and Rima Hadley, are significantly longer, wider, and deeper than terrestrial lava channels, sometimes featuring bends and sharp turns that again, are uncommon on Earth.
Mare volcanism has altered impact craters in various ways, including filling them to varying degrees, and raising and fracturing their floors from uplift of mare material beneath their interiors. Examples of such craters include Taruntius and Gassendi. Some craters, such as Hyginus, are of wholly volcanic origin, forming as calderas or collapse pits. Such craters are relatively rare and tend to be smaller (typically a few kilometers wide), shallower, and more irregularly shaped than impact craters. They also lack the upturned rims characteristic of impact craters.
Almost all maria are on the near side of the Moon, and cover 31% of the surface of the near side[72] compared with 2% of the far side.[132] This is likely due to a concentration of heat-producing elements under the crust on the near side, which would have caused the underlying mantle to heat up, partially melt, rise to the surface and erupt.[77][133][134] Most of the Moon’s mare basalts erupted during the Imbrian period, 3.3–3.7 billion years ago, though some being as young as 1.2 billion years[63] and as old as 4.2 billion years.[64]
In 2006, a study of Ina, a tiny depression in Lacus Felicitatis, found jagged, relatively dust-free features that, because of the lack of erosion by infalling debris, appeared to be only 2 million years old.[135]Moonquakes and releases of gas indicate continued lunar activity.[135] Evidence of recent lunar volcanism has been identified at 70 irregular mare patches, some less than 50 million years old. This raises the possibility of a much warmer lunar mantle than previously believed, at least on the near side where the deep crust is substantially warmer because of the greater concentration of radioactive elements.[136][137][138][139] Evidence has been found for 2–10 million years old basaltic volcanism within the crater Lowell,[140][141] inside the Orientale basin. Some combination of an initially hotter mantle and local enrichment of heat-producing elements in the mantle could be responsible for prolonged activities on the far side in the Orientale basin.[142][143]
The lighter-colored regions of the Moon are called terrae, or more commonly highlands, because they are higher than most maria. They have been radiometrically dated to having formed 4.4 billion years ago and may represent plagioclasecumulates of the lunar magma ocean.[63][64] In contrast to Earth, no major lunar mountains are believed to have formed as a result of tectonic events.[144]
The concentration of maria on the near side likely reflects the substantially thicker crust of the highlands of the Far Side, which may have formed in a slow-velocity impact of a second moon of Earth a few tens of millions of years after the Moon’s formation.[145][146] Alternatively, it may be a consequence of asymmetrical tidal heating when the Moon was much closer to the Earth.[147]
A major geologic process that has affected the Moon’s surface is impact cratering,[148] with craters formed when asteroids and comets collide with the lunar surface. There are estimated to be roughly 300,000 craters wider than 1 km (0.6 mi) on the Moon’s near side.[149] Lunar craters exhibit a variety of forms, depending on their size. In order of increasing diameter, the basic types are simple craters with smooth bowl shaped interiors and upturned rims, complex craters with flat floors, terraced walls and central peaks, peak ring basins, and multi-ring basins with two or more concentric rings of peaks.[150] The vast majority of impact craters are circular, but some, like Cantor and Janssen, have more polygonal outlines, possibly guided by underlying faults and joints. Others, such as the Messier pair, Schiller, and Daniell, are elongated. Such elongation can result from highly oblique impacts, binary asteroid impacts, fragmentation of impactors before surface strike, or closely spaced secondary impacts.[151]
The lunar geologic timescale is based on the most prominent impact events, such as multi-ring formations like Nectaris, Imbrium, and Orientale that are between hundreds and thousands of kilometers in diameter and associated with a broad apron of ejecta deposits that form a regional stratigraphic horizon.[152] The lack of an atmosphere, weather, and recent geological processes mean that many of these craters are well-preserved. Although only a few multi-ring basins have been definitively dated, they are useful for assigning relative ages. Because impact craters accumulate at a nearly constant rate, counting the number of craters per unit area can be used to estimate the age of the surface.[152] However care needs to be exercised with the crater counting technique due to the potential presence of secondary craters. Ejecta from impacts can create secondary craters that often appear in clusters or chains but can also occur as isolated formations at a considerable distance from the impact. These can resemble primary craters, and may even dominate small crater populations, so their unidentified presence can distort age estimates.[153]
The radiometric ages of impact-melted rocks collected during the Apollo missions cluster between 3.8 and 4.1 billion years old: this has been used to propose a Late Heavy Bombardment period of increased impacts.[154]
High-resolution images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in the 2010s show a contemporary crater-production rate significantly higher than was previously estimated. A secondary cratering process caused by distal ejecta is thought to churn the top two centimeters of regolith on a timescale of 81,000 years.[155][156] This rate is 100 times faster than the rate computed from models based solely on direct micrometeorite impacts.[157]
Wide-angle image of a lunar swirl, the 70-kilometer-long Reiner Gamma
Lunar swirls are enigmatic features found across the Moon’s surface. They are characterized by a high albedo, appear optically immature (i.e. the optical characteristics of a relatively young regolith), and often have a sinuous shape. Their shape is often accentuated by low albedo regions that wind between the bright swirls. They are located in places with enhanced surface magnetic fields and many are located at the antipodal point of major impacts. Well known swirls include the Reiner Gamma feature and Mare Ingenii. They are hypothesized to be areas that have been partially shielded from the solar wind, resulting in slower space weathering.[158]
Liquid water cannot persist on the lunar surface. When exposed to solar radiation, water quickly decomposes through a process known as photodissociation and is lost to space. However, since the 1960s, scientists have hypothesized that water ice may be deposited by impacting comets or possibly produced by the reaction of oxygen-rich lunar rocks, and hydrogen from solar wind, leaving traces of water which could possibly persist in cold, permanently shadowed craters at either pole on the Moon.[159][160] Computer simulations suggest that up to 14,000 km2 (5,400 sq mi) of the surface may be in permanent shadow.[112] The presence of usable quantities of water on the Moon is an important factor in rendering lunar habitation as a cost-effective plan; the alternative of transporting water from Earth would be prohibitively expensive.[161]
In years since, signatures of water have been found to exist on the lunar surface.[162] In 1994, the bistatic radar experiment located on the Clementine spacecraft, indicated the existence of small, frozen pockets of water close to the surface. However, later radar observations by Arecibo, suggest these findings may rather be rocks ejected from young impact craters.[163] In 1998, the neutron spectrometer on the Lunar Prospector spacecraft showed that high concentrations of hydrogen are present in the first meter of depth in the regolith near the polar regions.[164] Volcanic lava beads, brought back to Earth aboard Apollo 15, showed small amounts of water in their interior.[165]
In 2008, NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper equipment on India‘s Chandrayaan-1 discovered, for the first time, water-rich minerals (shown in blue around a small crater from which they were ejected).
The 2008 Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft has since confirmed the existence of surface water ice, using the on-board Moon Mineralogy Mapper. The spectrometer observed absorption lines common to hydroxyl, in reflected sunlight, providing evidence of large quantities of water ice, on the lunar surface. The spacecraft showed that concentrations may possibly be as high as 1,000 ppm.[166] Using the mapper’s reflectance spectra, indirect lighting of areas in shadow confirmed water ice within 20° latitude of both poles in 2018.[167] In 2009, LCROSS sent a 2,300 kg (5,100 lb) impactor into a permanently shadowed polar crater, and detected at least 100 kg (220 lb) of water in a plume of ejected material.[168][169] Another examination of the LCROSS data showed the amount of detected water to be closer to 155 ± 12 kg (342 ± 26 lb).[170]
In May 2011, 615–1410 ppm water in melt inclusions in lunar sample 74220 was reported,[171] the famous high-titanium “orange glass soil” of volcanic origin collected during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The inclusions were formed during explosive eruptions on the Moon approximately 3.7 billion years ago. This concentration is comparable with that of magma in Earth’s upper mantle. Although of considerable selenological interest, this insight does not mean that water is easily available since the sample originated many kilometers below the surface, and the inclusions are so difficult to access that it took 39 years to find them with a state-of-the-art ion microprobe instrument.
Analysis of the findings of the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) revealed in August 2018 for the first time “definitive evidence” for water-ice on the lunar surface.[172][173] The data revealed the distinct reflective signatures of water-ice, as opposed to dust and other reflective substances.[174] The ice deposits were found on the North and South poles, although it is more abundant in the South, where water is trapped in permanently shadowed craters and crevices, allowing it to persist as ice on the surface since they are shielded from the sun.[172][174]
The Earth and the Moon form the Earth–Moon satellite system with a shared center of mass, or barycenter. This barycenter is 1,700 km (1,100 mi) (about a quarter of Earth’s radius) beneath the Earth’s surface.
The Moon’s orbit is slightly elliptical, with an orbital eccentricity of 0.055.[1] The semi-major axis of the geocentric lunar orbit, called the lunar distance, is approximately 400,000 km (250,000 miles or 1.28 light-seconds), comparable to going around Earth 9.5 times.[179]
The Moon makes a complete orbit around Earth with respect to the fixed stars, its sidereal period, about once every 27.3 days.[h] However, because the Earth–Moon system moves at the same time in its orbit around the Sun, it takes slightly longer, 29.5 days,[i][72] to return to the same lunar phase, completing a full cycle, as seen from Earth. This synodic period or synodic month is commonly known as the lunar month and is equal to the length of the solar day on the Moon.[180]
Due to tidal locking, the Moon has a 1:1 spin–orbit resonance. This rotation–orbit ratio makes the Moon’s orbital periods around Earth equal to its corresponding rotation periods. This is the reason for only one side of the Moon, its so-called near side, being visible from Earth. That said, while the movement of the Moon is in resonance, it still is not without nuances such as libration, resulting in slightly changing perspectives, making over time and location on Earth about 59% of the Moon’s surface visible from Earth.[181]
Unlike most satellites of other planets, the Moon’s orbital plane is closer to the ecliptic plane than to the planet’s equatorial plane. The Moon’s orbit is subtly perturbed by the Sun and Earth in many small, complex and interacting ways. For example, the plane of the Moon’s orbit gradually rotates once every 18.61 years,[182] which affects other aspects of lunar motion. These follow-on effects are mathematically described by Cassini’s laws.[183]
Minimum, mean and maximum distances of the Moon from Earth with its angular diameter as seen from Earth’s surface to scale
Simplified diagram of Earth bulging, being pulled and streched toward the Moon by its gravity, which is the main driver of the tides. The Ocean and Earth are being pulled more where it is closer to the Moon, causing tidal forces to be weaker at the far-side of Earth creating a second bulge and high-tide. The animation shows the change of the Moon’s position on its inclined orbit.
The gravitational attraction that Earth and the Moon (as well as the Sun) exert on each other manifests in a slightly greater attraction on the sides closest to each other, resulting in tidal forces. Ocean tides are the most widely experienced result of this, but tidal forces also considerably affect other mechanics of Earth, as well as the Moon and their system.
The lunar solid crust experiences tides of around 10 cm (4 in) amplitude over 27 days, with three components: a fixed one due to Earth, because they are in synchronous rotation, a variable tide due to orbital eccentricity and inclination, and a small varying component from the Sun.[184] The Earth-induced variable component arises from changing distance and libration, a result of the Moon’s orbital eccentricity and inclination (if the Moon’s orbit were perfectly circular and un-inclined, there would only be solar tides).[184] According to recent research, scientists suggest that the Moon’s influence on the Earth may contribute to maintaining Earth’s magnetic field.[185]
The cumulative effects of stress built up by these tidal forces produces moonquakes. Moonquakes are much less common and weaker than are earthquakes, although moonquakes can last for up to an hour – significantly longer than terrestrial quakes – because of scattering of the seismic vibrations in the dry fragmented upper crust. The existence of moonquakes was an unexpected discovery from seismometers placed on the Moon by Apolloastronauts from 1969 through 1972.[186]
The most commonly known effect of tidal forces is elevated sea levels called ocean tides.[187] While the Moon exerts most of the tidal forces, the Sun also exerts tidal forces and therefore contributes to the tides as much as 40% of the Moon’s tidal force; producing in interplay the spring and neap tides.[187]
The tides are two bulges in the Earth’s oceans, one on the side facing the Moon and the other on the side opposite. As the Earth rotates on its axis, one of the ocean bulges (high tide) is held in place “under” the Moon, while another such tide is opposite. The tide under the Moon is explained by the Moon’s gravity being stronger on the water close to it. The tide on the opposite side can be explained either by the centrifugal force as the Earth orbits the barycenter or by the water’s inertia as the Moon’s gravity is stronger on the solid Earth close to it and it is pull away from the farther water.[188]
Thus, there are two high tides, and two low tides in about 24 hours.[187] Since the Moon is orbiting the Earth in the same direction of the Earth’s rotation, the high tides occur about every 12 hours and 25 minutes; the 25 minutes is due to the Moon’s time to orbit the Earth.
If the Earth were a water world (one with no continents) it would produce a tide of only one meter, and that tide would be very predictable, but the ocean tides are greatly modified by other effects:
the frictional coupling of water to Earth’s rotation through the ocean floors
the sloshing of water between different ocean basins[189]
As a result, the timing of the tides at most points on the Earth is a product of observations that are explained, incidentally, by theory.
System evolution
Delays in the tidal peaks of both ocean and solid-body tides cause torque in opposition to the Earth’s rotation. This “drains” angular momentum and rotational kinetic energy from Earth’s rotation, slowing the Earth’s rotation.[187][184] That angular momentum, lost from the Earth, is transferred to the Moon in a process known as tidal acceleration, which lifts the Moon into a higher orbit while lowering orbital speed around the Earth.
Thus the distance between Earth and Moon is increasing, and the Earth’s rotation is slowing in reaction.[184] Measurements from laser reflectors left during the Apollo missions (lunar ranging experiments) have found that the Moon’s distance increases by 38 mm (1.5 in) per year (roughly the rate at which human fingernails grow).[190][191][192]Atomic clocks show that Earth’s Day lengthens by about 17 microseconds every year,[193][194][195] slowly increasing the rate at which UTC is adjusted by leap seconds.
This tidal drag makes the rotation of the Earth, and the orbital period of the Moon very slowly match. This matching first results in tidally locking the lighter body of the orbital system, as is already the case with the Moon. Theoretically, in 50 billion years,[196] the Earth’s rotation will have slowed to the point of matching the Moon’s orbital period, causing the Earth to always present the same side to the Moon. However, the Sun will become a red giant, most likely engulfing the Earth–Moon system long before then.[197][198]
If the Earth–Moon system isn’t engulfed by the enlarged Sun, the drag from the solar atmosphere can cause the orbit of the Moon to decay. Once the orbit of the Moon closes to a distance of 18,470 km (11,480 mi), it will cross Earth’s Roche limit, meaning that tidal interaction with Earth would break apart the Moon, turning it into a ring system. Most of the orbiting rings will begin to decay, and the debris will impact Earth. Hence, even if the Sun does not swallow up Earth, the planet may be left moonless.[199]
Libration, the slight variation in the Moon’s apparent size and viewing angle over a single lunar month as viewed from somewhere on the Earth’s northern hemisphere.
The Moon’s highest altitude at culmination varies by its lunar phase, or more correctly its orbital position, and time of the year, or more correctly the position of the Earth’s axis. The full moon is highest in the sky during winter and lowest during summer (for each hemisphere respectively), with its altitude changing towards dark moon to the opposite.
The apparent orientation of the Moon depends on its position in the sky and the hemisphere of the Earth from which it is being viewed. In the northern hemisphere it appears upside down compared to the view from the southern hemisphere.[201] Sometimes the “horns” of a crescent moon appear to be pointing more upwards than sideways. This phenomenon is called a wet moon and occurs more frequently in the tropics.[202]
The distance between the Moon and Earth varies from around 356,400 km (221,500 mi) (perigee) to 406,700 km (252,700 mi) (apogee), making the Moon’s distance and apparent size fluctuate up to 14%.[203][204] On average the Moon’s angular diameter is about 0.52°, roughly the same apparent size as the Sun (see § Eclipses). In addition, a purely psychological effect, known as the Moon illusion, makes the Moon appear larger when close to the horizon.[205]
Rotation
Comparison between the Moon on the left, rotating tidally locked (correct), and with the Moon on the right, without rotation (incorrect)
The tidally locked synchronous rotation of the Moon as it orbits the Earth results in it always keeping nearly the same face turned towards the planet. The side of the Moon that faces Earth is called the near side, and the opposite the far side. The far side is often inaccurately called the “dark side”, but it is in fact illuminated as often as the near side: once every 29.5 Earth days. During dark moon to new moon, the near side is dark.[206]
The Moon originally rotated at a faster rate, but early in its history its rotation slowed and became tidally locked in this orientation as a result of frictional effects associated with tidal deformations caused by Earth.[207] With time, the energy of rotation of the Moon on its axis was dissipated as heat, until there was no rotation of the Moon relative to Earth. In 2016, planetary scientists using data collected on the 1998–99 NASA Lunar Prospector mission found two hydrogen-rich areas (most likely former water ice) on opposite sides of the Moon. It is speculated that these patches were the poles of the Moon billions of years ago before it was tidally locked to Earth.[208]
Half of the Moon’s surface is always illuminated by the Sun (except during a lunar eclipse). Earth also reflects light onto the Moon, observable at times as Earthlight when it is reflected back to Earth from areas of the near side of the Moon that are not illuminated by the Sun.
Since the Moon’s axial tilt with respect to the ecliptic is 1.5427°, in every draconic year (346.62 days) the Sun moves from being 1.5427° north of the lunar equator to being 1.5427° south of it and then back, just as on Earth the Sun moves from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn and back once every tropical year. The poles of the Moon are therefore in the dark for half a draconic year (or with only part of the Sun visible) and then lit for half a draconic year. The amount of sunlight falling on horizontal areas near the poles depends on the altitude angle of the Sun. But these “seasons” have little effect in more equatorial areas.
With the different positions of the Moon, different areas of it are illuminated by the Sun. This illumination of different lunar areas, as viewed from Earth, produces the different lunar phases during the synodic month. The phase is equal to the area of the visible lunar sphere that is illuminated by the Sun. This area or degree of illumination is given by (1−cose)/2=sin2(e/2), where e is the elongation (i.e., the angle between Moon, the observer on Earth, and the Sun).
Brightness and apparent size of the Moon changes also due to its elliptic orbit around Earth. At perigee (closest), since the Moon is up to 14% closer to Earth than at apogee (most distant), it subtends a solid angle which is up to 30% larger. Consequently, given the same phase, the Moon’s brightness also varies by up to 30% between apogee and perigee.[209] A full (or new) moon at such a position is called a supermoon.[203][204][210]
Observational phenomena
There has been historical controversy over whether observed features on the Moon’s surface change over time. Today, many of these claims are thought to be illusory, resulting from observation under different lighting conditions, poor astronomical seeing, or inadequate drawings. However, outgassing does occasionally occur and could be responsible for a minor percentage of the reported lunar transient phenomena. Recently, it has been suggested that a roughly 3 km (1.9 mi) diameter region of the lunar surface was modified by a gas release event about a million years ago.[211][212]
Albedo and color
The changing apparent color of the Moon, filtered by Earth’s atmosphere
The Moon has an exceptionally low albedo, giving it a reflectance that is slightly brighter than that of worn asphalt. Despite this, it is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun.[72][j] This is due partly to the brightness enhancement of the opposition surge; the Moon at quarter phase is only one-tenth as bright, rather than half as bright, as at full moon.[213] Additionally, color constancy in the visual system recalibrates the relations between the colors of an object and its surroundings, and because the surrounding sky is comparatively dark, the sunlit Moon is perceived as a bright object. The edges of the full moon seem as bright as the center, without limb darkening, because of the reflective properties of lunar soil, which retroreflects light more towards the Sun than in other directions. The Moon’s color depends on the light the Moon reflects, which in turn depends on the Moon’s surface and its features, having for example large darker regions. In general, the lunar surface reflects a brown-tinged gray light.[214]
At times, the Moon can appear red or blue. It may appear red during a lunar eclipse, because of the red spectrum of the Sun’s light being refracted onto the Moon by Earth’s atmosphere. Because of this red color, lunar eclipses are also sometimes called blood moons. The Moon can also seem red when it appears at low angles and through a thick atmosphere.
The Moon may appear blue depending on the presence of certain particles in the air,[214] such as volcanic particles,[215] in which case it can be called a blue moon.
Because the words “red moon” and “blue moon” can also be used to refer to specific full moons of the year, they do not always refer to the presence of red or blue moonlight.
Eclipses only occur when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are all in a straight line (termed “syzygy“). Solar eclipses occur at new moon, when the Moon is between the Sun and Earth. In contrast, lunar eclipses occur at full moon, when Earth is between the Sun and Moon. The apparent size of the Moon is roughly the same as that of the Sun, with both being viewed at close to one-half a degree wide. The Sun is much larger than the Moon, but it is the vastly greater distance that gives it the same apparent size as the much closer and much smaller Moon from the perspective of Earth. The variations in apparent size, due to the non-circular orbits, are nearly the same as well, though occurring in different cycles. This makes possible both total (with the Moon appearing larger than the Sun) and annular (with the Moon appearing smaller than the Sun) solar eclipses.[216] In a total eclipse, the Moon completely covers the disc of the Sun and the solar corona becomes visible to the naked eye.
Because the distance between the Moon and Earth is very slowly increasing over time,[187] the angular diameter of the Moon is decreasing. As it evolves toward becoming a red giant, the size of the Sun, and its apparent diameter in the sky, are slowly increasing.[k] The combination of these two changes means that hundreds of millions of years ago, the Moon would always completely cover the Sun on solar eclipses, and no annular eclipses were possible. Likewise, hundreds of millions of years in the future, the Moon will no longer cover the Sun completely, and total solar eclipses will not occur.[217]
As the Moon’s orbit around Earth is inclined by about 5.145° (5° 9′) to the orbit of Earth around the Sun, eclipses do not occur at every full and new moon. For an eclipse to occur, the Moon must be near the intersection of the two orbital planes.[218] The periodicity and recurrence of eclipses of the Sun by the Moon, and of the Moon by Earth, is described by the saros, which has a period of approximately 18 years.[219]
Because the Moon continuously blocks the view of a half-degree-wide circular area of the sky,[l][220] the related phenomenon of occultation occurs when a bright star or planet passes behind the Moon and is occulted: hidden from view. In this way, a solar eclipse is an occultation of the Sun. Because the Moon is comparatively close to Earth, occultations of individual stars are not visible everywhere on the planet, nor at the same time. Because of the precession of the lunar orbit, each year different stars are occulted.[221]
It is believed by some that the oldest cave paintings from up to 40,000 BP of bulls and geometric shapes,[222] or 20–30,000 year old tally sticks were used to observe the phases of the Moon, keeping time using the waxing and waning of the Moon’s phases.[223] Aspects of the Moon were identified and aggregated in lunar deities from prehistoric times and were eventually documented and put into symbols from the very first instances of writing in the 4th millennium BC. One of the earliest-discovered possible depictions of the Moon is a 3,000 BCE rock carving Orthostat 47 at Knowth, Ireland.[224][225] The crescent depicting the Moon as with the lunar deity Nanna/Sin have been found from the 3rd millennium BCE.[226]
The oldest named astronomer and poet Enheduanna, Akkadian high priestess to the lunar deity Nanna/Sin and pricess, daughter of Sargon the Great (c. 2334 – c. 2279 BCE), had the Moon tracked in her chambers.[227] The oldest found and identified depiction of the Moon in an astronomical relation to other astronomical features is the Nebra sky disc from c. 1800–1600 BCE, depicting features like the Pleiades next to the Moon.[228][229]
The Nebra sky disc (c. 1800–1600 BCE), found near a possibly astronomical complex, most likely depicting the Sun or full Moon, the Moon as a crescent, the Pleiades and the summer and winter solstices as strips of gold on the side of the disc,[230][231] with the top representing the horizon[232] and north.
In Aristotle‘s (384–322 BC) description of the universe, the Moon marked the boundary between the spheres of the mutable elements (earth, water, air and fire), and the imperishable stars of aether, an influential philosophy that would dominate for centuries.[237]Archimedes (287–212 BC) designed a planetarium that could calculate the motions of the Moon and other objects in the Solar System.[238] In the 2nd century BC, Seleucus of Seleucia correctly thought that tides were due to the attraction of the Moon, and that their height depends on the Moon’s position relative to the Sun.[239] In the same century, Aristarchus computed the size and distance of the Moon from Earth, obtaining a value of about twenty times the radius of Earth for the distance.
The Chinese of the Han dynasty believed the Moon to be energy equated to qi and their ‘radiating influence’ theory recognized that the light of the Moon was merely a reflection of the Sun; Jing Fang (78–37 BC) noted the sphericity of the Moon.[234]: 413–414 Ptolemy (90–168 AD) greatly improved on the numbers of Aristarchus, calculating a mean distance of 59 times Earth’s radius and a diameter of 0.292 Earth diameters, close to the correct values of about 60 and 0.273 respectively.[240] In the 2nd century AD, Lucian wrote the novel A True Story, in which the heroes travel to the Moon and meet its inhabitants. In 510 AD, the Indian astronomer Aryabhata mentioned in his Aryabhatiya that reflected sunlight is the cause of the shining of the Moon.[241][242] The astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haytham (965–1039) found that sunlight was not reflected from the Moon like a mirror, but that light was emitted from every part of the Moon’s sunlit surface in all directions.[243]Shen Kuo (1031–1095) of the Song dynasty created an allegory equating the waxing and waning of the Moon to a round ball of reflective silver that, when doused with white powder and viewed from the side, would appear to be a crescent.[234]: 415–416 During the Middle Ages, before the invention of the telescope, the Moon was increasingly recognized as a sphere, though many believed that it was “perfectly smooth”.[244]
Telescopic exploration (1609–1959)
Galileo‘s sketches of the Moon from the ground-breaking Sidereus Nuncius (1610), publishing among other findings the first descriptions of the Moon’s topography
In 1609, Galileo Galilei used an early telescope to make drawings of the Moon for his book Sidereus Nuncius, and deduced that it was not smooth but had mountains and craters. Thomas Harriot had made but not published such drawings a few months earlier.
Telescopic mapping of the Moon followed: later in the 17th century, the efforts of Giovanni Battista Riccioli and Francesco Maria Grimaldi led to the system of naming of lunar features in use today. The more exact 1834–1836 Mappa Selenographica of Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich von Mädler, and their associated 1837 book Der Mond, the first trigonometrically accurate study of lunar features, included the heights of more than a thousand mountains, and introduced the study of the Moon at accuracies possible in earthly geography.[245] Lunar craters, first noted by Galileo, were thought to be volcanic until the 1870s proposal of Richard Proctor that they were formed by collisions.[72] This view gained support in 1892 from the experimentation of geologist Grove Karl Gilbert, and from comparative studies from 1920 to the 1940s,[246] leading to the development of lunar stratigraphy, which by the 1950s was becoming a new and growing branch of astrogeology.[72]
After World War II the first launch systems were developed and by the end of the 1950s they reached capabilities that allowed the Soviet Union and the United States to launch spacecraft into space. The Cold War fueled a closely followed development of launch systems by the two states, resulting in the so-called Space Race and its later phase the Moon Race, accelerating efforts and interest in exploration of the Moon.
After the first spaceflight of Sputnik 1 in 1957 during International Geophysical Year the spacecraft of the Soviet Union’s Luna program were the first to accomplish a number of goals. Following three unnamed failed missions in 1958,[247] the first human-made object Luna 1 escaped Earth’s gravity and passed near the Moon in 1959. Later that year the first human-made object Luna 2 reached the Moon’s surface by intentionally impacting. By the end of the year Luna 3 reached as the first human-made object the normally occluded far side of the Moon, taking the first photographs of it. The first spacecraft to perform a successful lunar soft landing was Luna 9 and the first vehicle to orbit the Moon was Luna 10, both in 1966.[72]
Following President John F. Kennedy‘s 1961 commitment to a crewed Moon landing before the end of the decade, the United States, under NASA leadership, launched a series of uncrewed probes to develop an understanding of the lunar surface in preparation for human missions: the Jet Propulsion Laboratory‘s Ranger program, the Lunar Orbiter program and the Surveyor program. The crewed Apollo program was developed in parallel; after a series of uncrewed and crewed tests of the Apollo spacecraft in Earth orbit, and spurred on by a potential Soviet lunar human landing, in 1968 Apollo 8 made the first human mission to lunar orbit (the first Earthlings, two tortoises, had circled the Moon three months earlier on the Soviet Union’s Zond 5, followed by turtles on Zond 6).
The first time a person landed on the Moon and any extraterrestrial body was when Neil Armstrong, the commander of the American mission Apollo 11, set foot on the Moon at 02:56 UTC on July 21, 1969.[248] Considered the culmination of the Space Race,[249] an estimated 500 million people worldwide watched the transmission by the Apollo TV camera, the largest television audience for a live broadcast at that time.[250][251] While at the same time another mission, the robotic sample return mission Luna 15 by the Soviet Union had been in orbit around the Moon, becoming together with Apollo 11 the first ever case of two extraterrestrial missions being conducted at the same time.
The Apollo missions 11 to 17 (except Apollo 13, which aborted its planned lunar landing) removed 380.05 kilograms (837.87 lb) of lunar rock and soil in 2,196 separate samples.[252] Scientific instrument packages were installed on the lunar surface during all the Apollo landings. Long-lived instrument stations, including heat flow probes, seismometers, and magnetometers, were installed at the Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 landing sites. Direct transmission of data to Earth concluded in late 1977 because of budgetary considerations,[253][254] but as the stations’ lunar laser ranging corner-cube retroreflector arrays are passive instruments, they are still being used.[255]Apollo 17 in 1972 remains the last crewed mission to the Moon. Explorer 49 in 1973 was the last dedicated U.S. probe to the Moon until the 1990s.
The Soviet Union continued sending robotic missions to the Moon until 1976, deploying in 1970 with Luna 17 the first remote controlled roverLunokhod 1 on an extraterrestrial surface, and collecting and returning 0.3 kg of rock and soil samples with three Lunasample return missions (Luna 16 in 1970, Luna 20 in 1972, and Luna 24 in 1976).[256]
Negotiation in 1979 of Moon treaty, and its subsequent ratification in 1984 was the only major activity regarding the Moon until 1990.
Renewed exploration (1990–present)
In 1990 Hiten – Hagoromo,[257] the first dedicated lunar mission since 1976, reached the Moon. Sent by Japan, it became the first mission that was not a Soviet Union or U.S. mission to the Moon.
In 1994, the U.S. dedicated a mission to fly a spacecraft (Clementine) to the Moon again for the first time since 1973. This mission obtained the first near-global topographic map of the Moon, and the first global multispectral images of the lunar surface.[258] In 1998, this was followed by the Lunar Prospector mission, whose instruments indicated the presence of excess hydrogen at the lunar poles, which is likely to have been caused by the presence of water ice in the upper few meters of the regolith within permanently shadowed craters.[259]
The next years saw a row of first missions to the Moon by a new group of states actively exploring the Moon. Between 2004 and 2006 the first spacecraft by the European Space Agency (ESA) (SMART-1) reached the Moon, recording the first detailed survey of chemical elements on the lunar surface.[260] The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program reached the Moon for the first time with the orbiter Chang’e 1 (2007–2009),[261] obtaining a full image map of the Moon. India reached, orbited and impacted the Moon in 2008 for the first time with its Chandrayaan-1 and Moon Impact Probe, becoming the fifth and sixth state to do so, creating a high-resolution chemical, mineralogical and photo-geological map of the lunar surface, and confirming the presence of water molecules in lunar soil.[262]
The U.S. launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the LCROSS impactor on June 18, 2009. LCROSS completed its mission by making a planned and widely observed impact in the crater Cabeus on October 9, 2009,[263] whereas LRO is currently in operation, obtaining precise lunar altimetry and high-resolution imagery.
China continued its lunar program in 2010 with Chang’e 2, mapping the surface at a higher resolution over an eight-month period, and in 2013 with Chang’e 3, a lunar lander along with a lunar rover named Yutu (Chinese: 玉兔; lit. ‘Jade Rabbit’). This was the first lunar rover mission since Lunokhod 2 in 1973 and the first lunar soft landing since Luna 24 in 1976, making China the third country to achieve this.
The U.S. developed plans for returning to the Moon beginning in 2004,[266] and with the signing of the U.S.-led Artemis Accords in 2020, the Artemis program aims to return the astronauts to the Moon in the 2020s.[267] The Accords have been joined by a growing number of countries. The introduction of the Artemis Accords has fueled a renewed discussion about the international framework and cooperation of lunar activity, building on the Moon Treaty and the ESA-led Moon Village concept.[268][269][270]
Artemis II crew, with the first woman, person of color and non–US-citizen astronaut planned to go to the Moon, scheduled for 2025, returning humans to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. Clockwise from left: Koch, Glover, Hansen and Wiseman.
Beside the progressing Artemis program and supporting Commercial Lunar Payload Services, leading an international and commercial crewed opening up of the Moon and sending the first woman, person of color and non-US citizen to the Moon in the 2020s,[277] China is continuing its ambitious Chang’e program, having announced with Russia’s struggling Luna-Glob program joint missions.[278][279] Both the Chinese and US lunar programs have the goal to establish in the 2030s a lunar base with their international partners, though the US and its partners will first establish an orbital Lunar Gateway station in the 2020s, from which Artemis missions will land the Human Landing System to set up temporary surface camps.
While the Apollo missions were explorational in nature, the Artemis program plans to establish a more permanent presence. To this end, NASA is partnering with industry leaders to establish key elements such as modern communication infrastructure. A 4G connectivity demonstration is to be launched aboard an Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander in 2024.[280] Another focus is on in situ resource utilization, which is a key part of the DARPA lunar programs. DARPA has requested that industry partners develop a 10–year lunar architecture plan to enable the beginning of a lunar economy.[281]
Map of all the sites of soft landings on the Moon (2024)
In 1959 the first extraterrestrial probes reached the Moon (Luna program), just a year into the space age, after the first ever orbital flight. Since then, humans have sent a range of probes and people to the Moon. The first stay of people on the Moon was conducted in 1969, in a series of crewed exploration missions (the Apollo Program), the last having taken place in 1972.
Uninterrupted presence has been the case through the remains of impactors, landings and lunar orbiters. Some landings and orbiters have maintained a small lunar infrastructure, providing continuous observation and communication at the Moon.
While the Moon has the lowest planetary protection target-categorization, its degradation as a pristine body and scientific place has been discussed.[285] If there is astronomy performed from the Moon, it will need to be free from any physical and radio pollution. While the Moon has no significant atmosphere, traffic and impacts on the Moon causes clouds of dust that can spread far and possibly contaminate the original state of the Moon and its special scientific content.[286] Scholar Alice Gorman asserts that, although the Moon is inhospitable, it is not dead, and that sustainable human activity would require treating the Moon’s ecology as a co-participant.[287]
Space debris beyond Earth around the Moon has been considered as a future challenge with increasing numbers of missions to the Moon, particularly as a danger for such missions.[289][290] As such lunar waste management has been raised as an issue which future lunar missions, particularly on the surface, need to tackle.[291][292]
Longterm missions continuing to be active are some orbiters such as the 2009-launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter surveilling the Moon for future missions, as well as some Landers such as the 2013-launched Chang’e 3 with its Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope still operational.[295] Five retroreflectors have been installed on the Moon since the 1970s and since used for accurate measurements of the physical librations through laser ranging to the Moon.
The Moon has been used as a site for astronomical and Earth observations. The Earth appears in the Moon’s sky with an apparent size of 1° 48′ to 2°,[296] three to four times the size of the Moon or Sun in Earth’s sky, or about the apparent width of two little fingers at an arm’s length away. Observations from the Moon started as early as 1966 with the first images of Earth from the Moon, taken by Lunar Orbiter 1. Of particular cultural significance is the 1968 photograph called Earthrise, taken by Bill Anders of Apollo 8 in 1968. In April 1972 the Apollo 16 mission set up the first dedicated telescope,[297][298] the Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph, recording various astronomical photos and spectra.[299]
The Moon is recognized as an excellent site for telescopes.[300] It is relatively nearby; certain craters near the poles are permanently dark and cold and especially useful for infrared telescopes; and radio telescopes on the far side would be shielded from the radio chatter of Earth.[301] The lunar soil, although it poses a problem for any moving parts of telescopes, can be mixed with carbon nanotubes and epoxies and employed in the construction of mirrors up to 50 meters in diameter.[302] A lunar zenith telescope can be made cheaply with an ionic liquid.[303]
The only instances of humans living on the Moon have taken place in an Apollo Lunar Module for several days at a time (for example, during the Apollo 17 mission).[304] One challenge to astronauts during their stay on the surface is that lunar dust sticks to their suits and is carried into their quarters. Astronauts could taste and smell the dust, which smells like gunpowder and was called the “Apollo aroma”.[305] This fine lunar dust can cause health issues.[305]
In 2019, at least one plant seed sprouted in an experiment on the Chang’e 4 lander. It was carried from Earth along with other small life in its Lunar Micro Ecosystem.[306]
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty defines the Moon and all outer space as the “province of all mankind“.[307] It restricts the use of the Moon to peaceful purposes, explicitly banning military installations and weapons of mass destruction.[311] A majority of countries are parties of this treaty.[312] The 1979 Moon Agreement was created to elaborate, and restrict the exploitation of the Moon’s resources by any single nation, leaving it to a yet unspecified international regulatory regime.[313] As of January 2020, it has been signed and ratified by 18 nations,[314] none of which have human spaceflight capabilities.
Since 2020, countries have joined the U.S. in their Artemis Accords, which are challenging the treaty. The U.S. has furthermore emphasized in a presidential executive order (“Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources.”) that “the United States does not view outer space as a ‘global commons’” and calls the Moon Agreement “a failed attempt at constraining free enterprise.”[315][316]
With Australia signing and ratifying both the Moon Treaty in 1986 as well as the Artemis Accords in 2020, there has been a discussion if they can be harmonized.[269] In this light an Implementation Agreement for the Moon Treaty has been advocated for, as a way to compensate for the shortcomings of the Moon Treaty and to harmonize it with other laws and agreements such as the Artemis Accords, allowing it to be more widely accepted.[268][270]
In the face of such increasing commercial and national interest, particularly prospecting territories, U.S. lawmakers have introduced in late 2020 specific regulation for the conservation of historic landing sites[317] and interest groups have argued for making such sites World Heritage Sites[318] and zones of scientific value protected zones, all of which add to the legal availability and territorialization of the Moon.[288]
In 2021, the Declaration of the Rights of the Moon[319] was created by a group of “lawyers, space archaeologists and concerned citizens”, drawing on precedents in the Rights of Nature movement and the concept of legal personality for non-human entities in space.[320][321]
Coordination and regulation
Increasing human activity at the Moon has raised the need for coordination to safeguard international and commercial lunar activity. Issues from cooperation to mere coordination, through for example the development of a shared Lunar time, have been raised.
The Venus of Laussel (c. 25,000 BP) holding a crescent shaped horn. The 13 notches on the horn may symbolize the average number of days from menstruation to an ovulation, or the approximate number of full menstrual cycles and lunar cycles per year (although these two phenomena are unrelated).[322][323]
Since pre-historic times people have taken note of the Moon’s phases and its waxing and waning cycle and used it to keep record of time. Tally sticks, notched bones dating as far back as 20–30,000 years ago, are believed by some to mark the phases of the Moon.[223][324][325] The counting of the days between the Moon’s phases eventually gave rise to generalized time periods of lunar cycles as months, and possibly of its phases as weeks.[326]
The words for the month in a range of different languages carry this relation between the period of the month and the Moon etymologically. The English month as well as moon, and its cognates in other Indo-European languages (e.g. the Latinmensis and Ancient Greek μείς (meis) or μήν (mēn), meaning “month”)[327][328][329][330] stem from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root of moon, *méh1nōt, derived from the PIE verbal root *meh1-, “to measure”, “indicat[ing] a functional conception of the Moon, i.e. marker of the month” (cf. the English words measure and menstrual).[331][332][333] To give another example from a different language family, the Chinese language uses the same word (月) for moon as for month, which furthermore can be found in the symbols for the word week (星期).
This lunar timekeeping gave rise to the historically dominant, but varied, lunisolar calendars. The 7th-century Islamic calendar is an example of a purely lunar calendar, where months are traditionally determined by the visual sighting of the hilal, or earliest crescent moon, over the horizon.[334]
Humans have not only observed the Moon since prehistoric times, but have also developed intricate perceptions of the Moon. Over time the Moon has been characterized and associated in many different ways, from having a spirit or being a deity, and an aspect thereof or an aspect in astrology, being made an important part of many cosmologies.
This rich history of humans viewing the Moon has been evidenced starting with depictions from 40,000 BP and in written form from the 4th millennium BCE in the earliest cases of writing. The oldest named astronomer and poet Enheduanna, Akkadian high priestess to the lunar deity Nanna/Sin and pricess, daughter of Sargon the Great (c. 2334 – c. 2279 BCE), tracked the Moon and wrote poems about her divine Moon.[227]
Crescent
For the representation of the Moon, especially its lunar phases, the crescent (🌙) has been a recurring symbol in a range of cultures since at least 3,000 BCE or possibly earlier with bull horns dating to the earliest cave paintings at 40,000 BP.[222][229] In writing systems such as Chinese the crescent has developed into the symbol 月, the word for Moon, and in ancient Egyptian it was the symbol 𓇹, meaning Moon and spelled like the ancient Egyptian lunar deity Iah,[337] which the other ancient Egyptian lunar deities Khonsu and Thoth were associated with.
The particular arrangement of the crescent with a star known as the star and crescent (☪️) goes back to the Bronze Age, representing either the Sun and Moon, or the Moon and the planet Venus, in combination. It came to represent the selene goddess Artemis, and via the patronage of Hecate, which as triple deity under the epithettrimorphos/trivia included aspects of Artemis/Diana, came to be used as a symbol of Byzantium, with Virgin Mary (Queen of Heaven) later taking her place, becoming depicted in Marian veneration on a crescent and adorned with stars. Since then the heraldric use of the star and crescent proliferated, Byzantium’s symbolism possibly influencing the development of the Ottoman flag, specifically the combination of the Turkish crescent with a star,[341] and becoming a popular symbol for Islam (as the hilal of the Islamic calendar) and for a range of nations.[342]
Occasionally some lunar deities have been also depicted driving a chariot across the sky, such as the Hindu Chandra/Soma, the Greek Artemis, which is associated with Selene, or Luna, Selene’s ancient Roman equivalent.
Color and material wise the Moon has been associated in Western alchemy with silver, while gold is associated with the Sun.[343]
The perception of the Moon in modern times has been informed by telescope enabled modern astronomy and later by spaceflight enabled actual human activity at the Moon, particularly the culturally impactful lunar landings. These new insights inspired cultural references, connecting romantic reflections about the Moon[346] and speculative fiction such as science-fiction dealing with the Moon.[345][347]
The lunar effect is a purported unproven correlation between specific stages of the roughly 29.5-day lunar cycle and behavior and physiological changes in living beings on Earth, including humans. The Moon has long been associated with insanity and irrationality; the words lunacy and lunatic are derived from the Latin name for the Moon, Luna. Philosophers Aristotle and Pliny the Elder argued that the full moon induced insanity in susceptible individuals, believing that the brain, which is mostly water, must be affected by the Moon and its power over the tides, but the Moon’s gravity is too slight to affect any single person.[350] Even today, people who believe in a lunar effect claim that admissions to psychiatric hospitals, traffic accidents, homicides or suicides increase during a full moon, but dozens of studies invalidate these claims.[350][351][352][353][354]
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