9 Exploration Of The Moon Flashcards
What is the mean thickness of the crust on the Moon?
The mean thickness of the Lunar crust is 50-60 km, which is 3 times that of the Earth’s.
How is the Far Side of the Moon different to the Near side?
The thickness in the lunar highlands on the far side can be as large as 160 km whereas, the Near side has lunar maria which is lower land
How is the Moon’s core different to the Earth’s?
The radius of the Moon’s core is less than 25% of the Moon’s radius. In comparison, the Earth’s core extends to more than 50% of its radius.
Why is the Moon’s core ‘weird’?
The Moon’s core is offset from the centre by about 2 km
What spacecraft first took pictures of the Moon’s far side?
The Luna 3 of Russia took the first picture of the Moon’s far side
What year did the Luna 3 probe take the pictures of the far side?
1959
What were the Apollo missions?
The Apollo missions were a series of US-planned missions which aimed at sending the first man on the Moon
What Apollo successfully sent a man on the Moon?
Apollo 11
Name four theories regarding the origin of the Moon:
- Giant Impact Hypothesis
- Fission Theory
- Capture Theory
- Co-accretion Theory
What is the Giant Impact Hypothesis?
The Giant Impact Hypothesis suggests that a large astronomical body - astronomers name Theia - stuck the Earth. Theia was vaporised and the debris cooled and condensed to form the Moon. This also suggests why the Earth is at a tilt of 23.5°. It also is supported by the fact the Moon has little volatiles and its small iron core
What is the Fission Theory?
The Earth was spinning so rapidly part of it spun off and formed the Moon
What is the Capture Theory?
The Capture Theory suggests that the Earth and the Moon were formed in different places in the Solar System, but the Earth caught captured the Moon with its gravitational force
What is the Co-Accretion Theory?
The Co-Accretion theory suggests the Earth and the Moon formed at the same time out of material from the Solar Nebula
How many astronomers walked on the surface of the Moon?
12
What instruments were left on the Moon?
A retro-reflector
A seismometer
A solar wind particle collector
