The MOON!
- Marcus.S (Author/editor)
- Sep 16, 2019
- 2 min read
It is midnight, you can't sleep so you go downstairs for a glass of water but stop as you catch a glimpse of a Large disk floating gracefully in the sky. That is the Moon, Earths only natural satellite.
From the beginning, humanity has looked up at the sky and wondered what it was, they made myths and legends to explain what they were seeing. From solar eclipses to full Moons, our little cratered friend has made jaws drop world wide with its beauty and surreptitiousness.
(Now onto the boring stuff)
The moon is approximately 4.53 Billion years, a mass of 7.342e+23 kg, and an equatorial radius of 1738.1km, the Moon is pretty cool. Suspected of once being part of our beloved Earth, the Moon shares a special part of history and our hearts. (I know that these articles are supposed to be unbiased but I personally LOVE staring at the moon, come to think about it, the moon probably thinks I am a creep.)
Not everyone agrees on how the Moon came to be, but a common theory that is generally accepted is the Giant-Impact theory. This theory suggests that a Mars sized object collided with the Earth many billions of years ago. The impact would of knocked a chunk out of the planet. Over time, this chunk of Earth would become the Moon. This theory is backed by the existence of Earth elements and geological 'formations' (I.e, rocks) found by the Apollo astronauts. Furthermore, An isotopic comparison analysis of Earth and Moon rocks showed them to be identical, Though differ form the other planets in the solar system. That being said, The Giant-Impact Theory has changed many times and will likely continue to evolve as our knowledge of the Moon and other planetary bodies continue to expand.
THE HISTORY OF LUNAR EXPLORATION OVER-OVERSIMPLIFIED (Only the crewed missions)
During the Apollo program, the US (United States of America) Launched 6 manned missions to the moon atop of the Saturn 5 rocket. Beginning with Apollo 8, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first individuals to step foot on the Lunar surface.
Starting at the beginning, the Saturn V rocket that carried the CSM (Command and service module) and the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) was first thought up by Wernher Von Braun, a German scientist brought to the US along with about 700 others during August of 1946 in an operation named, Operation Paperclip.
The Saturn V was part of a family of rockets named Saturn, all of which were brain children of Mr. Wernher Von Braun.
The Saturn V's first flight took place on May 14, 1973, carrying Skylab to Orbit.
It's cost/launch was 185 million dollars, and the cost of the project itself was 6.417 BILLION DOLLARS!!
To cut a long story short, The Saturn V carried 3 men, 2 of which landed on the moon, sticking it to the soviets and changing the course of history forever.
Thanks for listening in and have a great day!!!!
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