Science of the Moon
Three principal theories:
- co-accretion: Moon and Earth formed at the same time from the Solar Nebula
- fission: Moon split off of the Earth
- capture: Moon formed elsewhere and captured by the Earth
Impact theory is now widely accepted
- Earth collided with large object (big as Mars or more) and Moon formed from the ejected material
No global magnetic field.
382 kg of rock samples were returned to the Earth by the Apollo and Luna programs.
First visited by the Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 in 1959.
The first landing was on July 20, 1969;
The last was in December 1972