EARTH'S MOON Our long-time companion

Can We Live on the Moon?

We know that humans can survive on the Moon, thanks to the success of the Apollo missions and the 12 brave people who have explored the lunar surface. But can we create permanent settlements where we don’t just survive, but thrive? The short answer is, yes! We have lots of practice living off-world, thanks to over 20 years of the International Space Station being continuously inhabited. There are similar challenges we’ll face on the Moon, including no air to breathe and being confined to small spaces. Some things will be more challenging, such as increased radiation exposure and a farther distance to send help. But some things will be easier. There is some gravity on the Moon, which is better for our muscular-skeletal system compared to being weightless in orbit. There’s also water ice near the surface at the poles, for use in drinking and fuel, and soil that’s similar enough to Earth’s that we can grow crops in it. Read More

Learn About NASA’s Artemis Moon Program

Back to Earth

Latest News About Earth's Moon

How atoms and molecules from Earth's atmosphere, knocked into space by the solar wind, are transported to the moon along magnetic field lines.

Good news for lunar bases? Earth's atmosphere leaks all the way out to the moon

December 15, 2025

When astronauts next go to the moon, they'll find a little bit of home waiting for them. Read more

Lunar soil analyses reveal how space weathering shapes the moon's ultraviolet reflectance

December 10, 2025

The discovery will help interpret regional and global far-ultraviolet maps of the moon. Read more

The full Moon with its many lunar maria that, at the right time, can appear like a face looking back at you

The man in the Moon gets a new scar

November 20, 2025

While the days of basin forming impacts are largely over, the Moon is still struck by objects creating smaller, fresh craters. Read more

An illustration of the collision between Earth and Theia

Earth and Theia smashed to birth the moon, but did they first start out as close neighbors?

November 20, 2025

"The most convincing scenario is that most of the building blocks of Earth and Theia originated in the inner solar system." Read more

The South Pole-Aitken basin is an impact crater about 2500 kilometres wide, overlaid by smaller impact craters

The moon's largest crater didn't form in the way we thought

October 22, 2024

The impact that carved out the South Pole-Aitken basin on the moon appears to have come from the north, not the south as previously thought Read more

Apollo 17’s Harrison Schmitt on the surface of the Moon

A tiny Apollo 17 moon rock is unlocking a secret lunar history

September 26, 2025

The small chunk of rock could be telling us that many of the moon’s largest impacts happened over 4.25 billion years ago. Read more

Astronomers weigh nuclear option to stop Moon-bound asteroid

September 25, 2025

Astronomers weigh nuclear options to prevent asteroid 2024 YR4 from striking the Moon and sending debris toward Earth Read more

Quasi-moons follow heliocentric orbits, centered around the sun, that are similar to Earth's

Astronomers say Earth has a newly discovered ‘quasi-moon'

September 22, 2025

Researchers are discussing 2025 PN7, a small celestial body that’s following a similar orbital path to our planet’s Read more

Satellite image of the lunar south pole and Schrödinger basin

Lunar missions may contaminate the moon with hardy Earth microbes

September 16, 2025

Some common species of bacteria and fungi could survive for several days on the moon's surface Read more

The sample has been unopened since it was first collected in 1972

Apollo Moon sample opened after 50 years contains evidence of extraterrestrial landslide

August 19, 2025

Even 50 years later, the Apollo program is still making groundbreaking discoveries Read more

Scientists say a shower of space rocks orbiting Earth could be chunks of the Moon

August 5, 2025

One of Earth's co-orbital bodies has a spectral signature closely matching lunar rocks Read more

The iconic Earthrise photo was taken by Apollo 8 astronaut William Bill Anders.

Scientists scan famous 'Earthrise' crater on mission to find alien life in our solar system

August 2, 2025

A large lunar crater has just helped the European JUICE spacecraft hone its alien-hunting instruments Read more

Apollo 17 Astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt samples the boulder at Station 7 located at the base of North Massif in the Taurus-Littrow valley

Seismic activity on the moon could pose risk to long-term lunar infrastructure

July 30, 2025

Ground acceleration from moonquakes was responsible for shifting lunar landscapes Read more

The basaltic meteorite is a piece of lunar rock that formed in a lava flow 2.35 billion years ago, long after volcanism on the moon was supposed to have ended

2 billion-year-old moon rock found in Africa reveals secret lunar history

July 17, 2025

The meteorite is the only lunar sample that we have from this forgotten period of the moon. Read more

The Mare Imbrium Basin, on the northern nearside of the moon

The moon doesn't have a magnetic field, so why does it have magnetic rocks?

May 23, 2025

An ancient asteroid impact may be to blame. Read more

This artist’s concept shows the Moon’s hot interior and volcanism about 2 to 3 billion years ago

NASA studies reveal hidden secrets about interiors of Moon

May 14, 2025

Analyzing gravity data reveals groundbreaking insights about planetary structures without having to land on the surface Read more

China's Chang'e 5 sample-return capsule is seen back on Earth after delivering the first new samples of moon rocks in 44 year.

A tiny glass bead from the moon offers clues to its hidden interior

May 13, 2025

"This is a big step forward in understanding how the moon evolved internally." Read more

Illustration of the young Earth-moon system

Our moon may have once been as hellish as Jupiter's super volcanic moon Io

May 8, 2025

"You would see glowing lava flows all over the place, and maybe the odd volcanic eruption." Read more

Elevation data shows the lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin, the largest and oldest impact basin on the moon, in blue and purple

A giant crater on the moon may hold remnants of an ancient magma ocean

May 5, 2025

Material from the crater can "tell the story of the late evolution of the lunar magma ocean" Read more

A team of astronomers has determined the shape of asteroid 2024 YR4, which could hit the moon

Asteroid 2024 YR4 has 'unexpected' shape, astronomers say

April 9, 2025

The 'unusually' shaped asteroid has a slim chance of hitting the moon Read more

An image of the Chang'e 6 lander on the lunar surface at the far side of the moon

Our moon could be debris from an ancient Earth impact

April 9, 2025

The findings also deepen the mystery as to why the nearside and farside of the Moon appear so different Read more

How bacteria could help build and maintain cities on the moon

April 6, 2025

An experiment designed to test the technique could launch on India's first crewed space mission Read more

Earth’s Moon is thought to have formed when a Mars-like object called Theia smashed into Earth, flinging material into space that became the Moon

Moon was smashed out of Earth during a huge collision in the early Solar System

March 21, 2025

According to a new study, our Moon could be a chip off the old block Read more

The Athena lander, built by Texas company Intuitive Machines, orbited the moon ahead of its attempt to land on March 6

Two privately-owned spacecraft make contact from the moon

March 6, 2025

Blue Ghost was the first private lunar lander to not crash or fall over. Athena fared less well Read more

This view shows the thin crescent moon setting over ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile

Did Covid lockdowns really cause temperatures on the moon to drop?

February 10, 2025

The debate continues Read more

Artist’s impression of an asteroid nearing the moon

There’s a tiny chance the asteroid headed for Earth could hit the moon

February 10, 2025

The explosion might be visible from Earth and would leave a new crater on the near side of the moon Read more

Typically, asteroids — like the one depicted in this artist’s concept — originate from the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, but some may come from the Moon's surface

Study finds Earth’s small asteroid visitor likely chunk of Moon rock

January 22, 2025

The near-Earth object was likely ejected into space after an impact thousands of years ago Read more

An illustration of a moon-like world surrounded by icy rings

Earth's moon could've had Saturn-like rings

January 14, 2025

Moons may have had rings in the past — deepening the mystery of why no ringed moons exist today Read more

A Blue Moon is a rare occurrence that depends on the timings of full moons during the year.

Blue Moon: what is it and when is the next one?

January 10, 2025

Earth won't experience another Blue Moon until 2026. Here we explore this phenomenon in more detail. Read more

This view of the moon's cratered south pole was seen by NASA's Clementine spacecraft in 1996

The moon's oldest crater is super round

December 9, 2024

That's great news for NASA's Artemis astronauts Read more

Fascinating Facts About Earth's Moon

If the sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be the size of a nickel and the moon would the size of a green pea.
The moon is Earth's only natural satellite and orbits the Earth at a distance of about 384 thousand kilometers (239 thousand miles) or 0.00257 AU.
The moon makes a complete orbit around Earth in 27 Earth days and rotates or spins at that same rate, or in that same amount of time. This causes the moon to keep the same side towards Earth throughout the course of its orbit.
The moon is the fifth largest moon in the solar system.
The full moon appears 400,000 times less bright than the Sun does.
The moon is the only celestial body beyond Earth that has been visited by human beings.
The moon has a very thin and tenuous (weak) atmosphere called an exosphere.

Missions

LADEE (2013)
Mission to collect information about structure and composition of the lunar atmosphere

GRAIL mission (2011)
Mission to create high-resolution map of the Moon’s gravitational field

LCROSS (2009)
Mission to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a shadowed crater near a lunar pole

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (2009)
Mission to collect detailed information about the lunar environment

Chandrayaan-1 (2008)
ISRO mission to study geological, mineralogical and topographical characteristics of the Moon

Chang’e (2007-2018)
CNSA (China) lunar orbiter, lander and rover

KAGUYA (SELENE) (2007)
JAXA mission to understand origin of the Moon

Artemis Project (2007)
Repurposed THEMIS mission to study the Moon’s interactions with the Sun

Smart-1 (2003)
ESA mission to perform scientific observations of the Moon

Lunar Prospector (1998)
Mission to map moon’s surface composition

Clementine (1994)
Mission to make scientific observations of the Moon

HITEN (1990)
ISAS (JAXA) mission studying satellite orbit, data transmission and aerobraking

Apollo missions (1967-1972)
Mission to land humans on the moon and return them safely to Earth

Explorer Program (1967-1973)
Multiple missions carrying out a wide variety of scientific investigations

Surveyor probes (1966-1968)
Mission to determine if lunar terrain was safe for landing

Lunar orbiter program (1964-1967)
Missions to locate good landing sites for Apollo mission

Soviet Lunar Missions (1959-1976)
Mission to determine feasibility of manned lunar landings