Fast Facts
- The Moon is only a quarter of the size of Earth.quarter of the size of Earth.
- The temperature on the Moon varies from lows of -280 degrees to highs of 260 degrees!
- Full moon names traditionally come from Native American, Colonial American, and European folklore and include names like Full Snow Moon, Full Flower Moon and Full Strawberry Moon.
- The Moon has no air to breathe and no weather, so it is very quiet there.
The Moon is Earth’s closest neighbor in space and the bright object we often see glowing at night. It is about 238,000 miles away and travels around Earth in about 27 days. The Moon does not make its own light—it shines because sunlight reflects off its surface.
People first walked on the Moon in 1969 during the Apollo 11 Moon Landing mission. Astronauts discovered that the Moon is covered in dust, rocks, mountains, and giant craters made by space rocks crashing into it long ago.
Today, NASA is working on the Artemis Program missions, which aim to send astronauts back to the Moon and eventually help humans travel to Mars. The Moon’s gravity also helps create ocean tides on Earth, and its changing shapes are called phases, like full moons and crescents.
Additional Information and Resources:
https://www.natgeokids.com/au/discover/science/space/facts-about-the-moon/