📖 About Luna

Luna—our Moon—is Earth’s only natural satellite and the fifth-largest moon in the solar system, with a diameter of 3,474 km. Formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago when a Mars-sized body called Theia collided with the proto-Earth, the resulting debris coalesced into our familiar companion. The Moon orbits Earth at an average distance of 384,400 km and is tidally locked, always showing the same face.

The Apollo program (1969-1972) stands as humanity’s greatest exploration achievement, landing 12 astronauts on the lunar surface and returning 382 kg of samples. These samples revealed that the Moon’s dark maria are basaltic lava plains, while the bright highlands are ancient anorthosite crust. The far side, first photographed by the Soviet Luna 3 in 1959, is strikingly different—almost entirely highlands with very few maria.

NASA’s Artemis program aims to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, with Artemis III targeting a crewed landing near the south pole. China’s Chang’e 6 successfully returned the first samples from the lunar far side in 2024. India’s Chandrayaan-3 achieved a historic south polar landing in 2023. The south pole’s permanently shadowed craters contain billions of tons of water ice—essential for future lunar bases.

🔭 Key Features

🔬 Science & Future

The Moon serves as a geological time capsule, preserving a record of the inner solar system’s bombardment history that has been erased on Earth by plate tectonics and erosion. Lunar samples continue to yield new discoveries—recent analysis revealed water molecules trapped in volcanic glass beads, suggesting the Moon’s interior is not as dry as once believed.

Plans for permanent lunar bases are advancing rapidly. NASA’s Artemis Base Camp envisions habitats, rovers, and power systems near the south pole. China and Russia are developing the International Lunar Research Station. Commercial companies like ispace and Intuitive Machines are already landing payloads on the Moon. The lunar surface may also host solar power stations and serve as a proving ground for Mars exploration technologies.

📜 Discovery & Exploration

The Moon has been observed since prehistoric times, but telescopic observation began with Galileo in 1609, who mapped its mountains and craters. The Space Race of the 1960s drove rapid exploration: the Soviet Luna 2 made the first impact (1959), Luna 9 the first soft landing (1966), and Apollo 11 achieved the first crewed landing on July 20, 1969—watched by an estimated 600 million people worldwide.

Since Apollo, robotic missions have continued to explore. China’s Chang’e program has achieved multiple landings including the historic far-side landing of Chang’e 4 in 2019 and far-side sample return by Chang’e 6 in 2024. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has mapped the entire surface at high resolution since 2009. A new era of exploration has begun with multiple nations and private companies sending missions to the Moon.