The Moon

What is a satellite?

When a small object (like the moon) revolves around a big object (like the earth) then that small object called as a satellite of that big object. There is two type of satellites: natural and artificial. The earth has many satellites but the MOON is our only natural satellite. Others are artificial satellites which are sent by us to serve various purposes like earth observation, communication, broadcasting, weather report, military, navigation etc.

Earth’s natural satellite ‘The Moon’ is the nearest large celestial body. After the sun it is the second brightest body in the sky. The moon is also called as “LUNA”. The mass of the moon is 7.35*10^22 kilograms while the mass of the earth is 5.97219*10^24 kilograms. That means, the moon is only 1.2% mass of earth. The diameter of the moon is 3,475 kilometers. The orbit period of the moon is 27.3 days. The distance between the earth and the moon is 384,400 kilometers. In 1969, Apollo 11 spaceship took 4 days 6 hours 45 minutes to get to the moon.

On September 12, 1959, Luna 2 became the first unmanned spacecraft that reached the moon's surface. Between 1961 and 1972, a series of a manned missions to the moon were conducted by NASA, as part of a program called “Apollo”. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 became the first spacecraft to land safely on the Moon's surface. Neil Armstrong became the first man to step on the Moon surface, followed by the pilot Edwin Aldrin.

On October 21, 2008, the Chandrayaan 1, India’s first lunar probe, discovered water on the moon surface.

Here are some “Missions to the Moon”:-

1.  Soviet Union (Impactor (Luna 2))
2.  United State (Apollo)
3.  European space agency (SMART 1)
4.  Japan (Hiten)
5.  India (Chandrayaan 1)
6.  People’s Republic of China (Chang’e 1)

Future missions:- 

ISRO has decided to launch Chandrayaan 2 this year. The main goal of this mission is to land on the moon surface and analyze the surface. China Aerospace Science and Technology (CAST) has planned to launch Chang’e 4 mission this year. The main aim of this mission is to research the mineral composition and the geological structure of the south pole of the moon.

Here are some fascinating facts about the moon……..

1. The moon is in synchronous rotation with earth and because of that reason we are able to see only one face of the moon.
2. The main reason for the occurrence of tides on earth is moon because of the gravitational forces between them.
3. Jupiter’s satellite Ganymede is the largest satellite in our solar system. Our moon is the fifth largest satellite in our solar system.
4. The moon is moving 3.8 centimeters away from the earth every year because of which the distance between earth and moon is increasing continuously. As a result, the orbit period of the moon is also increasing.
5. Unlike earth, the moon has no atmosphere. That means the moon is wide open for an attack of cosmic rays, solar wind, and meteorites.
6. When the earth is in between the moon and the sun, then lunar eclipse occurs.
7. The gravity of the moon is weak as compared to earth. Therefore the weight of the man on the moon is much less compared to earth.
8. The Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on the earth, it is 8,848 meters. The tallest mountain on the moon is Mons Huygens, it is more than 4,000 meters tall.
9. Elements present on the moon surface include Iron, manganese, silicon, aluminium, calcium, titanium and oxygen.
10. In the near future, the moon will be again visited by mankind.

Written by:

Kanchan Ramteke