1 min read

Moon exploration

Updated: Sep 14, 2022

The image shows an astronaut standing on the surface of the Moon. The surface seems to be very dusty; however, the footprints of the astronaut seems like made in wet sand. This is something expected because regolit, the material that forms upper layer of the Moon's surface, has very unique properties. Behind the astronaut, on the lefts side in the back, lunar lover is standing. It has four weels, several instruments on it and an open anthena.

Moon is our closest neighbor. It has an important role in evolution of life on Earth and it always attracted humankind for exploration. Although the Moon exploration was driven by Cold War between Soviet Union and United States, it brought more than military advances. We learnt not only about Moon but also about the processes behind the formation of the Solar System formation. It has been fifty years from the moment when the last human stood on the surface of the Moon. The interest of going back to the Moon risen in the last decade and we might witness new astronauts walking on its soil. As well as half a century ago, it brings a lot of challenges, especially to protect astronauts against hard space environment. Humans on Moon are, unlike on Earth, not protected by atmosphere, or magnetic field. Space weather plays a crucial role in Moon exploration.

Learn more about the Moon and its exploration in our audio booklet. You will find out how humans got to the Moon, what important findings they made, and how Moon exploration can be endangered by space weather.