Facts About the Moon

The moon is a bit more than one-fourth (27%) the size of Earth. This means the moon has a great effect on our planet and may even be a major factor in making life on Earth possible.

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​The Moon

The Moon makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet's wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate. It also causes tides, creating a rhythm that has guided humans for thousands of years.

​The Moon

​The moon has only a very thin atmosphere, so a layer of dust — or a footprint — can sit undisturbed for centuries. And without much of an atmosphere, heat is not held near the surface, so temperatures vary wildly. Daytime temperatures on the sunny side of the moon reach 273 degrees F (134 Celsius); on the night side, it gets as cold as minus 243 F (minus 153 C). Humans cannot breathe on the moon.

Atmosphere

Draw

Draw the Earth and the Moon, showing how big the Moon is in comparison to Earth.

Multiple Choice

The Moon is important to Earth's ____________.

• seasons

• tides

• temperatures

• volcanoes.

The moon is rocky. It's pockmarked with craters created by asteroid impacts millions of years ago and, because there is no weather, the craters have not eroded.

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Craters

​The Moon was the first place beyond Earth humans tried to reach as the Space Age began in the late 1950s. More than 100 robotic explorers from more than half a dozen nations have since sent spacecraft to the Moon. Nine crewed missions have flown to the Moon and back.

​Exploring the Moon

​Twenty-four humans have traveled from the Earth to the Moon. Twelve walked on its surface. The last human visited the lunar surface in 1972.

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Lunar Travelers

Multiple Choice

Footprints from the Apollo astronauts __________

• are no longer on the moon.

• have turned into fossils.

• are still there.

• aren't real. The astronauts never went to the moon.

Fill in the Blanks

When did humans last walk on the moon?

We only see 60 % of the moon's surface.

As the Moon travels, it rotates on its own axis, just like our planet. It takes roughly the same amount of time for the Moon to make a full rotation as it does for it to complete its orbit.

The Moon has gravity

But the Moon’s gravity is weaker, only one sixth of the Earth’s gravity, in fact. That means you’d weigh much less if  you were to stand on the Moon!

We see the Moon because it reflects light from the Sun.

​The Moon does not glow

Multiple Choice

On the moon you would weigh _________

• less.

• more.

• the same.

Multiple Choice

We see both sides of the Moon.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

BONUS QUESTION

The Moon's shape changes because we see more or less of it.

• True

• False