☾ Moon: Natural Satellite

The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth,[d][7] and the fifth largest
satellite in the Solar System. It is the largest natural satellite of a planet in the Solar
System relative to the size of its primary,[e] having 27% the diameter and 60% the
density of Earth, resulting in 1⁄81 its mass. The Moon is the second densest satellite
after Io, a satellite of Jupiter.

The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face
with its near side marked by dark volcanic maria that fill between the bright ancient
crustal highlands and the prominent impact craters. It is the brightest object in the
sky after the Sun, although its surface is actually very dark, with a reflectance similar
to that of coal.

Surface geology
The topography of the Moon has been measured with laser altimetry and stereo
image analysis. The most visible topographic feature is the giant far side South Pole –
Aitken basin, some 2,240 km in diameter, the largest crater on the Moon and the
largest known crater in the Solar System. At 13 km deep, its floor is the lowest
elevation on the Moon. The highest elevations are found just to its north-east, and it
has been suggested that this area might have been thickened by the oblique
formation impact of South Pole – Aitken.The lunar far side is on average about 1.9
km higher than the near side.[1]

PRESENCE OF WATER

Liquid water cannot persist on the lunar surface. When exposed to solar
radiation, water quickly decomposes through a process known as photodissociation
and is lost to space. However since the 1960s, scientists have hypothesized that
water ice may be deposited by impacting comets or possibly produced by the
reaction of oxygen-rich lunar rocks, and hydrogen from solar wind, leaving traces of
water which could possibly survive in cold, permanently shadowed craters at either
pole on the Moon.[63][64] Computer simulations suggest that up to 14,000 km2 of
the surface may be in permanent shadow.[65] The presence of usable quantities of
water on the Moon is an important factor in rendering lunar habitation as a cost-
effective plan; the alternative of transporting water from Earth would be prohibitively
expensive.[66]