1. The Moon

2. Reaching for the Moon
Most of our knowledge about the Moon comes from space probes
1957 was the year that the Russians launched the first satellite, Sputnik I
In 1961, a Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin became the first human in space
Alan B. Shepard Jr., was the first American in space – May 5th, 1961
Neil Armstrong and Buz Aldrin landed on the Moon on July 20th, 1969, during Apollo 11

3. Apollo Program
The Apollo 17 mission in 1972 was the last time we were on the Moon
The US is considering going back there

4. Lunar Properties
Earth’s moon is one of the largest moons, especially compared to the size of the planet it orbits
The Moon’s radius is 27% that of the Earth’s and it is more than 1% of the Earth’s mass
Earth’s moon is a solid, rocky body
The moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are more icy
Earth’s moon is the only large one of the inner planets
Mercury and Venus have no moons and the moons of mars are tiny chunks of rock

5. The Lunar Surface The lunar surface is a very dark place
It’s albedo, the amount of light the surface reflects, is very small
The Moon has not atmosphere, so temps can range from 127 degrees C (260 F) to -173 degrees C (-343 F) where the sun is not shining
There is no erosion on the Moon except for creep and wear caused by recent impacts