1. Exploring the Moon

2. Important Dates
1957: The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite (Sputnik I)
April 12th, 1961: Yuri Gagarin, Russian cosmonaut, was the first human in space.
Vostok spacecraft

3. Important Dates
May 5th, 1961: Alan B. Shepard Jr. was the first American launched into space. (Project Mercury)
1961 began Project Gemini, with two initial uncrewed missions and in 1965 sent two men around Earth’s orbit.
July 20th, 1969: The Apollo program landed a man on the moon.
Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin
“That’s one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind” Video

4. The Lunar Surface Albedo (7%) Highlands Maria Rilles Impact craters
Ejecta
Rays

5. The Lunar Surface
Rilles
Impact craters
Ejecta
Rays

6. Lunar Properties
It is the largest moon compared to the radius and mass of the planet it orbits.
It is a solid, rocky body, in contrast with the icy composition of other moons in the Solar System.
Its orbit is father from Earth relative to the distance of many moons from the planets they orbit.

7. Composition Maria: Predominantly BASALT (no water)
Made up of minerals similar to Earth’s: Silicates
Highlands: Predominantly lunar BRECCIAS
Rocks consisting of angular fragments
that are cemented together.
Composed of plagioclase feldspar
CALCIUM AND ALUMINUM
IRON
Maria: Predominantly BASALT
(no water)

8. History of the Moon 3.8 to 4.6 billion years old
Scientists theorize that the Moon was heavily bombarded during its first 800 million years.
This caused the breaking and heating of surface rocks and resulted in REGOLITH on the surface:
A layer of loose, ground-up rock on the surface
Includes dust, soil, broken rock, and other materials.
It averages several meters in thickness, but it varies greatly on location.

9. Layered Structure: Seismic Data

10. The Far Side and the Near Side

11. The Giant Impact Theory
The Moon formed as the results of a collision between Earth and a Mars-sized object about 4.5 billion years ago when the solar system was forming.
The impact caused materials from the incoming body and Earth’s outer layers to be ejected into space, where, being trapped by Earth’s gravity, they began to orbit the Earth.
Over time, the materials merged to form the MOON.
video

12. Landing on the Moon: Hoax?
You make up your own mind…