Essay On Lunar Exploration

General Lunar Background

The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite. Understanding how it evolved is a very important step in understanding lunar exploration and the specific features of the moon. The moon formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago. About 0.2 billion years later, the South Pole- Aitken Basin was formed by a large impact. Between 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago, was a period known as the heavy bombardment period (Evolution of the Moon. 2012). During this period, the moon was hit with numerous impacts that left craters. 3.1 to 1 billion years ago, mare volcanism took place (Evolution of the Moon. 2012). During this time, the lava from under the crust, broke through the surface, and filled the craters with Mare. Also during this time, intermediate cratering was taking place (Evolution of the Moon. 2012). Intermediate cratering was smaller asteroids and debris smashing into the moon, creating smaller craters in the surface of the mare. From this time, until today, ray cratering has been taking place (Evolution of the Moon. 2012). These are the craters that have bright rays coming off of them.

Lunar exploration began when the Soviets’ Luna flew by the moon in 1959. Soon after, Pioneer 4, sent by NASA, passed by the moon. The Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter missions were sent by NASA soon after that to photograph the surface of the

A lot of the smaller, more detailed features of the moon look very different when seen through a telescope. The observation went smoothly, and, although I’m not an artist, drawing the visible object, that I had previously selected, was much easier than I was expecting. Luckily, I had previously prepared, and studied what my objects and the surrounding area looked like. If I hadn’t done that, it may have been more difficult to really know what I was seeing. Overall, the observation was a