• 3500km
• Quarter of Earth’s diameter

• 380,000km  (60 Earth Radii)

• 1/6 G

• Because the Moon’s orbital period is equal to it’s rotational period.

• 27.3 days

• 27.3 days

• It is the time taken for the Moon to go through a cycle of phases in the sky when observed from Earth.
• A lunar month is 29.5 days.

Click here for an interactive demonstration of the Lunar Cycle.

• Consider the Moon at M1 in line with the Earth and Sun
• During one full orbit of the Earth by the Moon (from M1 to M2), the earth has moved in its orbit (around the Sun) from E1 to E2
• An extra 2.2 days is needed to bring the Moon, the Sun and Earth back into alignment (during which time the moon has moved from M2 to M3) and complete the lunar cycle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Russian Luna 3
• October 1959
• Dual lens Camera

• – Apollo 8 astronauts in December 1968

• Lunar seas

  •  Maria
  •  Iron rich basaltic rock
  •  Dark Grey
  •  Smooth

 

• Highlands

  •  Terrae
  •  Anorthosite
    • Course grained Igneous rock
  •  Lighter grey
  •  Heavily cratered

 

• Notable features

  
  •  Sea of Crises
  •  Apennine Mountains
  •  Sea of Tranquility
  •  Tycho crater
  •  Kepler crater
  •  Coppernicus crater
  •  Ocean of Storms

 

•  Rilles

  
  •  Narrow channel like depressions
  •  caused by lava flows

 

• Wrinkle ridges

  
  •  Ridges up to 100’s of km long
  •  Caused by compressive forces within cooling lava.

Smaller number of craters in the Lunar seas.

To put men on the moon

To collect Lunar Soil and rock for analysis.

To perform scientific experiments (ALSEPS).

To beat the Russians and restore US prestige.

HERE IS A VIDEO I MADE ABOUT THE APOLLO MISSIONS

• NASA’s Apollo  missions (1960)
• Apollo 11 (1969)

• Launch pad fire

  • Welded door shut
  • 3 Astronauts unable to escape

• 1969.
• Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins.
• Lunar Module (LM) Eagle
• 2.5 hours EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) in Sea of Tranquillity
• US Flag planted
• Deployed scientific instruments (EASEPs)
• LM lift off and Rendezvous with Collins in CM

• 12

• RTG (Radio Isotope Thermoelectric Generator)

• Measure analyse monitor:

  • Structure of the Moon’s interior.
  • Composition and pressure of lunar atmosphere.
  • Intensity and direction of solar wind.
  • Minute changes in lunar gravity.
  • The presence of micrometeorites and secondary particles ejected from meteorite impacts.
  • Lunar dust
  • Thermal electrical properties of the lunar surface.
  • Distance from Earth to Moon using Laser ranging retro reflector (LRRR)

• Condensation/ Co-formation

  • Earth and Moon Formed at the same time and place
  • Magnetometers didn’t detect significant Lunar magnetic field
  • Density of Moon very different from Earth’s (ALSEPS)
    • therefore no iron core (like Earth) so unlikely that formed at same time as Earth.

 

• Capture hypothesis

  • The Moon formed a great distance away from the earth and was captured by Earth’s gravity during a close encounter.

 

• Fission Hypothesis

  • A rapidly spinning, young Earth threw off a blob which formed the moon.

 

• Giant Impact Hypothesis (Big Whack).

  • Mars sized object (Theia) hit earth causing a large blob of earth’s outer layers melted and merged .
  • Large amount of Debris thrown into Earth orbit.
    • This coalesced and cooled to form the Moon

• Oxygen Isotopes are the same on the Moon and the Earth

  • ○ Suggested that Moon and Earth formed same distance from Sun.

• Lack of water and volatile compounds

  • Vapourised during the Moon’s formation.

• KREEP (potassium rare Earth elements Phosphorus) rocks found on Moon

  • In Ocean of Storms
  • In Sea of Showers
  • The GIH (Giant impact Hypothesis) predicts that an ocean of hot cooling magma would have surrounded the Moon and KREEP rich magma would have crystallised in a region below the lunar crust