have been used to develop a geological understanding of the Moon's origin, the formation of its internal structure, and

its subsequent history. After the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the Moon has been visited by only unmanned spacecraft. Of these, orbital missions have dominated: Since 2004, Japan, China, India, the United States, and the European Space Agency have each sent lunar orbiters, which have contributed to confirming the discovery of lunar water ice in permanently shadowed craters at the poles and bound into the lunar regolith. The post-Apollo era has also seen two rover missions: the final Soviet Lunokhod mission in 1973, and China's ongoing Chang'e 3 mission, which deployed its Yutu rover on 14 December 2013. Future manned missions to the Moon have been planned, including government as well as privately funded efforts. The Moon remains, under the Outer Space Treaty, free to all nations to explore for peaceful purposes.

Physical characteristics Mean radius Equatorial radius Polar radius Flattening 1 737.10 km (0.273 Earths)[1][3] 1 738.14 km (0.273 Earths)[3]

1 735.97 km (0.273 Earths)[3] 0.001 25

Circumference 10 921 km (equatorial) Surface area Volume Mass Mean density Equatorial surface gravity Escape velocity 2.38 km/s 3.793 107 km2 (0.074 Earths) 2.1958 1010 km3 (0.020 Earths) 7.3477 1022 kg (0.012 300 Earths [1]) 3.3464 g/cm3[1] 1.622 m/s 2 (0.1654 g)

Contents
1 Name and etymology 2 Formation 3 Physical characteristics 3.1 Internal structure 3.2 Surface geology 3.2.1 Volcanic features 3.2.2 Impact craters 3.2.3 Presence of water 3.3 Gravitational field 3.4 Magnetic field 3.5 Atmosphere 3.6 Seasons 4 Relationship to Earth 4.1 Orbit 4.2 Relative size 4.3 Appearance from Earth 4.4 Tidal effects 4.5 Eclipses 5 Study and exploration 5.1 Early studies 5.2 First direct exploration: 19591976 5.2.1 Soviet missions 5.2.2 United States missions

27.321 582 d (synchronous) Sidereal rotation period Equatorial rotation velocity Axial tilt 4.627 m/s

1.5424 to ecliptic 6.687 to orbit plane[2]

Albedo Surface temp. Equator 85N [5] Apparent magnitude Angular diameter

0.136[4] min 100 K 70 K mean 220 K 130 K 2.5 to 12.9[b] 12.74 (mean full moon)[3] 29.3 to 34.1 arcminutes [3][c] Atmosphere [6] max 390 K 230 K

Surface pressure Composition

107 Pa (day) 1010 Pa (night)[d] Ar He Na K H Rn