Earth's MoonNASA
Explore the diverse lunar surface in 3D.
Cresent Earth rises above lunar horizon (1972-12-14)NASA
Over 200 moons orbit our Solar System's planets. Yet, there are none quite like our own airless, cratered satellite.
Astronaut Eugene Cernan drives the Lunar Roving Vehicle during first EVA (1972-12-10)NASA
Orbiting Earth at an average distance of around 240,000 miles (385,000 kilometers), the Moon is no stranger to visitors.
The only place beyond Earth where humans have set foot, the Moon is one of the best and most accessible places to study the evolution of the Solar System and its planets.
Neil Armstrong’s A-7L Lunar Spacesuit by ILC Industries Inc.Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
Explore the spacesuit used by the first human on the Moon and learn more about the journey here.
In addition to human explorers, our species has sent over 100 robotic spacecraft to the Moon — more than any other celestial body.
The New Solar System (2000-11-06) by NASA/JPL/ASUNASA
From pre-telescope observations to these modern robotic missions, scientific study of the Moon has revealed surprising lunar features, helped researchers piece together Earth's evolution, and advanced our understanding of the Solar System's history.
Earth's MoonNASA
Ancient Geology on Display
The Moon's lack of atmosphere and geologic activity make it an excellent destination to study the past.
While plate tectonics recycle and erase Earth's surface geology, the lunar landscape preserves billions of years of history in the scars of impacts, lava flows, and even sprinkles of human footprints.
As a result, the Moon is a geologic museum, a Solar System time capsule that continues to unveil new surprises.
Tfk 1/16/1998 (1972-12)LIFE Photo Collection
Copious Craters
Some of the Moon's most visibly striking features are the craters imprinted on its surface.
Astronaut Harrison Schmitt collects lunar rake samples during EVA (1972-12-11)NASA
Scientists have used the relationships among these impacts combined with dates derived from returned Apollo samples to outline the Moon and Earth's bombardment record and calibrate the ages of other planetary bodies.
Earth Moon (1998-06-08) by NASA/JPL/USGSNASA
Tycho Crater is one of the most noticeable impacts, producing bright, linear rays visible from Earth.
Tycho Crater (2018-04-09) by NASA Scientific Visualization StudioNASA
But, stretching only 52 miles (85 kilometers) wide with thousands of similarly-sized crater neighbors, it is not Tycho’s size that makes it stand out.
Tycho Crater's Peak (2017-12-08)NASA
Instead, the crater’s young age of 108 million years causes its fresh streaks of destruction to dramatically scar the southern half of the landscape. Tycho’s brilliant lines will ultimately fade with age, vanishing into their surroundings like those of its predecessors.
Tour of the Moon 4K Redux (2018-04-09) by NASA Scientific Visualization StudioNASA
Take a tour of Tycho Crater
Ice Confirmed at the Moon’s PolesNASA
As lunar science has proven, not all craters reveal their secrets as readily as Tycho. Hidden in the shadows of basins that never see sunlight, researchers made an unexpected discovery: water ice.
The Lunar South Pole (2010-09-27) by NASA/GSFC/Arizona State UniversityNASA
While some lunar environments experience temperatures above the boiling point, the Moon’s tilt forces others (such as select crater bottoms) to exist in continuous darkness.
Shadows in the South (2015-04-16) by NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of WashingtonNASA
Found on the North and South poles, temperatures in some permanently shadowed regions are colder than the surface of Pluto, potentially allowing ice to survive on the Moon for billions of years.
Saturn Apollo Program (1969-07-21)NASA
Scientists study these deposits to understand the origin of ice on the Moon and Earth. Learn more about the discovery of ice on the Moon here.
Ushering in a new era of human spaceflight, NASA’s current Artemis Program marks the agency’s return to the Moon, aiming to send crewed missions and establish a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.
Artist concept of the SLS Block 1 configurationNASA
With so much still to learn from our battered satellite and humanity's return to the Moon on the horizon, the future of lunar exploration is unquestionably bright. Stay up to date with lunar missions here.
