# Moon <!-- SOLSIM:BEGIN g31 — Solar System explorer state (hand-built on wt-core, specs/solar/); do not hand-edit inside --> **Microsim — three.js (Wikitube framework):** *The Moon in the Solar System explorer* <div class="wt-sim" data-src="https://wikitube-3d-microsims.netlify.app/solar/Solar_System.html?obj=Moon&embed=1" data-title="The Moon in the Solar System explorer"></div> *The Solar System explorer locked on this article's state (`?obj=Moon`); every object and population of the [[PORTAL_Solar_System|Solar System portal]] has its own state in the same scene.* <!-- SOLSIM:END --> <!-- SOLART:BEGIN g31 — Solar System portal child article, wave 1 (SOL-046, pinned oldid 1375536085); do not hand-edit inside --> *Try: set the speed to 1 day/s and watch the Moon complete one circuit of Earth in about 27 seconds in this true-scale local frame, 384,399 km out; drag to tilt the view and see how far the Moon sits from Earth compared with the size of either body; press o to hide the orbit line and follow the Moon alone.* The **Moon** is Earth's only natural satellite, a rocky, airless body with a mean radius of 1,737.4 km that orbits [[Earth]] at a mean distance of about 384,400 km and accompanies it around the [[Sun]].[^nasa-fs] Its mass is 1.23% of Earth's, the largest of any moon relative to its planet, and its surface gravity is 1.62 m/s², about a sixth of Earth's.[^nasa-fs][^R228] The Moon turns once on its axis for each orbit, so the same hemisphere always faces Earth, and the [[Tide|tides]] it raises are the main cause of Earth's ocean tides.[^R167] The Moon probably formed about 4.5 billion years ago from debris thrown out when a Mars-sized body struck the young Earth.[^R141][^R207] A crust of light anorthosite floated on an early ocean of magma; later, basalt lava flooded the great basins of the near side to form the dark maria.[^R144][^R149] It is the only world beyond Earth that people have visited: after the first robotic flyby, impact and landing by Soviet Luna probes, twelve American astronauts walked on its surface between 1969 and 1972, and in April 2026 the Artemis II crew flew around it.[^R374][^R378][^nasa-artemis2] The explorer at the top of this page opens Earth's local frame at true scale, with the Moon 384,399 km out on a 27.32-day orbit and its radius of 1,737.4 km; the Moon's starting phase in the scene is ILLUSTRATIVE, while Earth's own position comes from JPL orbital elements.[^nasa-fs][^jpl-t1] ## Names and etymology The English word descends from Old English *mōna*, from a Proto-Indo-European word for the month that is probably related to a root meaning "to measure", reflecting the Moon's old role as a timekeeper.[^R136][^R191] The Latin name *Luna* gives the adjective lunar and is sometimes used in science fiction and scientific writing; the Greek *Selene*, also the name of a goddess, gives selenography, the mapping of the lunar surface.[^R136] The International Astronomical Union writes Earth's satellite as "the Moon" with a capital letter and the satellites of other planets as "moons".[^R190][^R200] ### Classification Some planetary scientists argue that large, round moons such as this one are planets by a geophysical definition, and the Moon's size relative to Earth has led to the Earth–Moon pair being called a double planet.[^R10] Most astronomers reserve that label for a pair whose barycentre lies outside both bodies; the Earth–Moon barycentre lies inside Earth.[^R15] ## Natural history ### Formation [[Isotope|Isotope]] ratios in lunar samples place the Moon's formation within the first 50 or so million years of the Solar System.[^R202] Earlier hypotheses, spinning off from a fast-rotating Earth, capture of a passing body, or growth alongside Earth, fail to explain the Moon's small [[Iron|iron]] core and the high [[Angular_momentum|angular momentum]] of the pair.[^R141] The prevailing giant-impact model has a Mars-sized body, named Theia, strike the proto-Earth obliquely; the debris formed a disc that gathered into the Moon.[^R141][^R207] Earth and Moon have almost identical [[Oxygen|oxygen]] isotope ratios, whereas meteorites from Mars and Vesta differ, and explaining this sameness is the model's main open problem; mixing of vaporised material after the impact is one proposal.[^R142][^R216] The heat of accretion left a global magma ocean hundreds of kilometres deep.[^R143] ### Natural development The young Moon orbited much closer to Earth and has since spiralled outward as tides transferred angular momentum to it.[^R218] Most mare basalts erupted 3.3–3.7 billion years ago, with the youngest about 1.2 billion years old, mostly on the near side, where the crust is thinner.[^R149][^R219] Volcanic gases once gave the Moon a temporary atmosphere, lost within tens of millions of years.[^R20] ### Lunar geologic timescale Lunar time is divided at the great impacts, such as those that made the Nectaris, Imbrium and Orientale basins, whose ejecta blankets form regional marker layers; the youngest period is marked by bright-rayed craters such as Copernicus.[^R150] Because craters accumulate at a roughly steady rate, counting them dates surfaces relative to one another.[^R150] Impact-melt rocks from the Apollo sites cluster at 3.8–4.1 billion years, the basis for the proposed [[Late_Heavy_Bombardment|Late Heavy Bombardment]].[^R223] Images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show new craters forming faster than expected, churning the top 2 cm of soil in about 81,000 years.[^R226] ### Future Tidal recession will continue for billions of years. If the Earth–Moon system survives the Sun's red giant phase, drag in the Sun's outer atmosphere could shrink the orbit until the Moon crosses Earth's Roche limit, at about 18,470 km, and breaks apart into a ring.[^R22] ## Physical characteristics ### Size and mass The Moon is the fifth-largest natural satellite in the Solar System, smaller than [[Mercury_(planet)|Mercury]] but larger than any dwarf planet.[^R23] Its mean [[Density|density]] of 3,344 kg/m³ makes it the second-densest known satellite after [[Io_(moon)|Io]].[^nasa-fs][^R145] Its surface area of about 38 million km² is 4π × 1,737.4² ≈ 3.79 × 10⁷ km² (derived).[^nasa-fs] ### Shape The Moon is slightly elongated towards Earth, more than present tides can explain; the "fossil bulge" suggests it froze in shape when it orbited much closer.[^R231] ### Structure Seismic data from the Apollo network show a differentiated interior: a solid, iron-rich inner core about 240 km in radius, a fluid outer core extending to roughly 300 km, a partly molten layer to about 500 km, a mantle and a crust.[^R28][^R232] The mantle is thought to have crystallised from the magma ocean, with dense olivine and pyroxene sinking and light plagioclase floating to form an anorthosite [[Crust_(geology)|crust]] averaging about 50 km thick.[^R144][^R127] The core pressure is estimated at about 5 GPa.[^R235] ### Gravitational field Radio tracking of orbiting spacecraft mapped the [[Gravitational_field|gravitational field]] and revealed mascons, strong positive gravity anomalies over several impact basins, partly caused by dense lava filling them; they perturb low lunar orbits.[^R236] The Moon's own sphere of gravitational dominance, its [[Hill_sphere|Hill sphere]], extends about 60,000 km.[^R239] ### Magnetic field The Moon has no global field today, only patches of magnetised crust.[^R240] Apollo samples record an ancient dynamo, strong, around 100 microteslas, before about 3.56 billion years ago and then much weaker, a few microteslas, until it died out between roughly 1.9 and 0.8 billion years ago.[^R244][^R33][^R32] ### Atmosphere The Moon's atmosphere is an exosphere with a total mass of about 25,000 kg and a night-time surface pressure of about 3 × 10⁻¹⁵ bar.[^nasa-fs] Its atoms include [[Helium-4|helium-4]] and neon from the [[Solar_wind|solar wind]], [[Sodium|sodium]] and [[Potassium|potassium]] knocked from the soil, and [[Argon|argon]]-40 and radon released by [[Radioactive_decay|radioactive decay]] inside the Moon.[^R162] A thin, lopsided cloud of dust, kicked up by the steady rain of cometary particles, surrounds the Moon.[^R39] ### Surface conditions With no air to spread heat, the equator swings between about 95 K at night and 390 K by day.[^nasa-fs] Craters near the poles are permanently shadowed; the Diviner instrument measured 26 K in one of them, the coldest temperature measured by a spacecraft in the Solar System.[^R165] The surface is covered by [[Regolith|regolith]], a layer of impact-broken rock and glass about 4–5 m thick on the maria and 10–15 m in the highlands.[^R255] The radiation dose at the surface is about 1.37 millisieverts per day, roughly 200 times that at Earth's surface.[^R5][^R41] ### Surface features The largest impact structure is the South Pole–Aitken basin on the far side, about 2,240 km across, which contains the lowest points on the Moon; the far-side crust is on average about 1.9 km higher than the near side.[^R146][^R127] The dark maria, basalt plains that ancient observers took for seas, cover about 31% of the near side but only about 2% of the far side.[^R147][^R280] Thrust-fault scarps imaged by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show that the Moon is still contracting as it cools, and some are probably active today.[^R263][^R264] Young volcanic patches suggest eruptions within the last 50 million years in places.[^R283] In 2024 an analysis of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data confirmed an accessible cave, the entrance to a lava tube, near the Apollo 11 landing site.[^R46] ### Presence of water [[Water]] decomposes quickly in sunlight, but ice can survive in permanently shadowed polar craters.[^R304][^R151] Lunar Prospector found excess hydrogen at the poles in 1998, and in 2009 the LCROSS impactor threw up a plume containing water from the crater Cabeus.[^R155][^R158] Chandrayaan-1's Moon Mineralogy Mapper detected hydroxyl and water across the surface, and later analyses of its data found exposed ice near both poles.[^R157][^R307] In 2020 SOFIA detected molecular water on the sunlit surface.[^R50] Volcanic glass beads returned by Apollo 17 contain water at levels similar to Earth's upper mantle.[^R161] ## Earth–Moon system ### Orbit The Moon's [[Orbit|orbit]] has an eccentricity of 0.0549, so its distance ranges from about 357,000 to 407,000 km.[^nasa-fs] It completes an orbit relative to the stars in 27.32 days, but returns to the same phase only after 29.53 days, because Earth has moved along its own orbit meanwhile: 1 / (1/27.32 − 1/365.26) ≈ 29.53 days (derived).[^nasa-fs] The orbit is inclined about 5.1° to the [[Ecliptic|ecliptic]], and its nodes circle westward every 18.61 years, which makes its tilt to Earth's equator swing between about 18° and 28°.[^R58][^nasa-fs] The two bodies orbit a barycentre about 4,700 km from Earth's centre, inside Earth: 384,400 km × 0.0123 / 1.0123 ≈ 4,670 km (derived).[^nasa-fs] ### Rotation Tidal friction long ago slowed the Moon's spin until its rotation period matched its orbital period.[^R315] Because the orbit is eccentric and tilted, the Moon appears to rock slightly (libration), and over time about 59% of its surface can be seen from Earth.[^R66] The far side is not permanently dark; it gets sunlight as often as the near side.[^R311] The spin axis is tilted only 1.54° to the ecliptic, so polar crater floors never see the Sun.[^R312][^R313] ### Tidal effects Earth's pull stretches the Moon's solid body by about 10 cm over a month and triggers deep moonquakes, discovered by Apollo seismometers.[^R168][^R62] On Earth, the Moon raises two ocean bulges, and the [[Sun]] adds about 40% as much again, producing spring and neap tides.[^R167] Because the Moon moves along its orbit, high tides return about every 12 hours 25 minutes.[^R322] ### System evolution Ocean friction delays Earth's tidal bulge, which then pulls the Moon forward and Earth's rotation back: the Moon recedes by 38 mm per year, measured with laser reflectors left by Apollo, and the day lengthens.[^R324][^R167] Tidal deposits suggest that 3.2 billion years ago the day was about 13 hours long.[^R63] ## Observation ### Apparent size and position The Moon's mean angular diameter, about 0.52°, nearly matches the Sun's; at perigee it appears up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than at apogee.[^R55] Near the horizon it looks larger still, but that is a perceptual illusion.[^R335] ### Orientation and appearance Observers in the Southern Hemisphere see the Moon upside down relative to northern observers.[^R336] Libration lets watchers glimpse slightly past the edges of the near side.[^R66][^R338] ### Phases As the Moon circles Earth, the sunlit fraction seen from Earth runs from new moon through crescent, first quarter, gibbous and full, and back, in a synodic month of 29.53 days.[^nasa-fs] The lunar day on the surface lasts the same length.[^R57] ### True albedo and color of the surface The Moon reflects only about 12% of the light that falls on it, about as much as worn asphalt, yet it is the brightest object in the night sky because of its size and nearness.[^nasa-fs][^R346] Its surface is a muted grey-brown; during a total lunar eclipse, sunlight bent through Earth's atmosphere turns it red. ### Eclipses A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between [[Earth]] and the [[Sun]] at new moon, a lunar eclipse when it passes into Earth's shadow at full moon.[^R352] Because the orbit is tilted by 5.1°, eclipses happen only at new or full moons near a node, and they recur on the 18-year saros cycle.[^R169][^R354] As the Moon recedes, total solar eclipses will eventually give way to annular ones only.[^R69] ## History of scientific understanding and exploration ### Pre-telescopic observation (before 1609) Prehistoric art and tally marks may record lunar phases.[^R70] In the 5th century BC Anaxagoras argued that the Moon is a rock lit by the Sun, and Babylonian astronomers later recorded the 18-year saros cycle of eclipses.[^R358][^R359] Aristarchus and later Ptolemy estimated the Moon's distance; Ptolemy's value of 59 Earth radii is close to the true mean of about 60.[^R364] ### Telescopic exploration (1609–1959) Thomas Harriot sketched the Moon through a telescope in 1609, and Galileo published drawings of its mountains and craters in 1610.[^R369][^R370] Giovanni Riccioli's 1651 map established the naming system still in use.[^R371] ### First missions to the Moon (1959–1976) In 1959 the Soviet Luna 1 flew past the Moon, Luna 2 struck it and Luna 3 photographed the far side; Luna 9 made the first soft landing and Luna 10 the first lunar orbit in 1966.[^R374][^R147] Apollo 11 landed on 20 July 1969, and Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface at 02:56 UTC on 21 July.[^R375] Six Apollo landings returned 837.87 lb, about 380 kg (derived), of rock and soil in 2,196 samples, and three Soviet Luna missions returned about 0.3 kg robotically.[^R378][^R382] ### Moon Treaty and explorational absence (1976–1990) After Luna 24 in 1976 no spacecraft went to the Moon for fourteen years. The Moon Agreement was negotiated in 1979 and entered into force in 1984.[^R176] ### Renewed exploration (1990–present) Japan's Hiten reached lunar orbit in 1990, and Clementine (1994) and Lunar Prospector (1998) mapped the surface and the polar hydrogen.[^R383][^R384][^R385] Europe, China and India followed with SMART-1, Chang'e 1 and Chandrayaan-1.[^R386][^R387][^R388] China's Chang'e 4 made the first controlled landing on the far side on 3 January 2019, and Chang'e 5 returned 1,731 g of samples in 2020.[^nssdc-change4][^R391] India and Japan soft-landed in 2023 and 2024, and in February 2024 Intuitive Machines' IM-1 became the first commercial lander to reach the surface.[^R394][^R396] Artemis II carried four astronauts around the Moon in April 2026, the first crewed lunar flight since 1972.[^nasa-artemis2] ### Future [[NASA]] plans to land astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2028, and China aims for a crewed landing around 2030.[^R81][^R404] ## Human interaction and presence ### Human impact Increasing traffic raises concerns about dust contamination of scientifically valuable sites, especially the polar cold traps.[^R86] ### Astronomy from the Moon [[Earth]] hangs almost fixed in the near-side sky, about 2° across.[^R93] The far side is shielded from Earth's radio noise, and cold polar craters would suit infrared telescopes.[^R409] ### Living on the Moon Twelve astronauts have stayed on the surface, in pairs and for up to about three days, living in the Apollo Lunar Module; clinging, abrasive dust was a persistent problem.[^R97][^R98][^R99] ### Legal status The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bars any nation from claiming the Moon and forbids weapons of mass destruction there.[^R173][^R175] The 1979 Moon Agreement has been ratified by only a small number of states.[^R176] ## In culture and life ### Timekeeping The words "moon" and "month" share a root, and lunar and lunisolar calendars remain in use; the Islamic calendar begins each month with the sighting of the new crescent.[^R136][^R425] ### Cultural representation The Mesopotamian moon god Nanna/Sîn was symbolised by the crescent, and in Western alchemy the Moon stood for [[Silver|silver]].[^R116][^R118] ### Representation in modern culture Since 2021 the United Nations has observed 20 July, the anniversary of the first landing, as International Moon Day.[^R126] ### Lunar effect No reliable evidence connects the lunar cycle to human behaviour; a meta-analysis of 37 studies found no link between the full moon and "lunacy".[^R184][^R185] ## See also - [[Earth]] - [[Lunar_resources]] - [[Tide]] - [[Moons_of_Mars]] · [[Galilean_moons]] - [[PORTAL_Solar_System|Solar System portal]] ## Explanatory notes Derived numbers use the NASA fact-sheet values: surface area 4π × (1,737.4 km)² ≈ 3.79 × 10⁷ km²; synodic month 1 / (1/27.3217 − 1/365.256) ≈ 29.53 days; barycentre distance from Earth's centre 384,400 km × m_Moon/(m_Earth + m_Moon) = 384,400 × 0.0123/1.0123 ≈ 4,670 km, inside Earth's 6,371 km radius; 837.87 lb × 0.4536 kg/lb ≈ 380 kg. 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ISBN 978-0-521-33444-0. ## External links - NASA Science: Earth's Moon. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/ - NASA NSSDCA Moon Fact Sheet. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (NASA GSFC). https://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/ - Lunar and Planetary Institute: lunar science and exploration. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/ ### Cartographic resources - USGS/IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Moon. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/MOON/target - LROC QuickMap. https://quickmap.lroc.asu.edu/ *Article prose: Solar System portal child articles, wave 1, 2026-09-18 · row SOL-046 · strict pair pinned at revision [1375536085](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1375536085). The sections below this block are the page's earlier material, kept in place.* <!-- SOLART:END --> ## Microsim To Do *Claimable rows, house pattern. All real Wikipedia articles.* - Lunar resources - Shackleton (crater) - Ilmenite - KREEP - Peak of eternal light ## Links (Wikipedia order) <!-- injected from _registry/childlinks/Moon.json (2026-07-30T02:09:12Z) --> `(136617)_1994_CC` · `(153591)_2001_SN263` · `107_Camilla` · `10_Hygiea` · `120347_Salacia` · `130_Elektra` · `152830_Dinkinesh` · `174567_Varda` · `2013_ND15` · `2019_UO14` · `2060_Chiron` · `208996_Achlys` · `216_Kleopatra` · `229762_Gǃkúnǁʼhòmdímà` · `22_Kalliope` · `243_Ida` · `28978_Ixion` · `2_Pallas` · `307261_Máni` · `3122_Florence` · `317_Roxane` · `31_Euphrosyne` · `3548_Eurybates` · `3749_Balam` · `3753_Cruithne` · `41_Daphne` · `45_Eugenia` · `47171_Lempo` · `4_Vesta` · `4th_millennium_BC` · `532037_Chiminigagua` · `55565_Aya` · `55637_Uni` · `617_Patroclus` · `624_Hektor` · `65803_Didymos` · `66391_Moshup` · `762_Pulcova` · `79360_Sila–Nunam` · `87_Sylvia` · `93_Minerva` · `A_Greek–English_Lexicon` · `A_Latin_Dictionary` · `A_Trip_to_the_Moon` · `A_True_Story` 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`Classical_Kuiper_belt_object` · `Classical_planet` · `Clementine_(spacecraft)` · `Climate` · `Climate_change` · `Climate_system` · `Climate_variability_and_change` · `Climatology` · `Co-orbital_configuration` · `Coatlicue_(star)` · [[Cold_War]] · `Colonization_of_the_Moon` · `Comet` · `Commercial_Lunar_Payload_Services` · `Comminution` · `Commons` · `Compatibility_(geochemistry)` · `Complex_crater` · `Computer_cartography` · `Contiguous_United_States` · `Continent` · `Copernicus_(lunar_crater)` · `Cosmic_dust` · `Cosmic_ray` · `Cosmography` · `Cosmology` · `Counter-Earth` · `Coyolxāuhqui` · `Crater_counting` · `Crescent` · [[Crust_(geology)]] · `Culmination` · `Cultural_astronomy` · `Current_Biology` · `Current_Science` · `Cylinder_seal` · `Cynthia` · `DARPA_lunar_programs` · `Dactyl_(moon)` · `Daedalus_(crater)` · `Damocloid` · `Daniell_(crater)` · `Danuri` · `Dark_moon` · `David_Christian_(historian)` · `Day` · `Daytime` · `Debris_disk` · `Declination` · `Deep_space_exploration` · `Deimos_(moon)` · [[Density]] · `Dependent_territory` · `Destruction_of_the_Moon` · `Detached_object` · `Diana_(mythology)` · `Dimorphos` · `Dione_(moon)` · `Discovery_and_exploration_of_the_Solar_System` · `Disrupted_planet` · `Dose_rate` · `Double_planet` · `Dwarf_planet` · `Dysnomia_(moon)` · [[Earth]] · `Earth's_energy_budget` · `Earth's_magnetic_field` · `Earth's_orbit` · `Earth's_shadow` · `Earth,_Moon,_and_Planets` · `Earth_Day` · `Earth_and_Planetary_Science_Letters` · `Earth_in_culture` · `Earth_observation` · `Earth_observation_satellite` · `Earth_phase` · `Earth_radius` · `Earth_science` · `Earth_symbol` · `Earth_trojan` · `Earthlight` · `Earthrise` · `Earthset` · `Eclipse` · `Eclipse_cycle` · `Ecliptic` · [[Ecology]] · [[Ecosystem]] · `Effects_of_Planet_Nine_on_trans-Neptunian_objects` · `Ejecta_blanket` · `Ellipsoid` · `Elysium_Space` · `Enceladus` · `Encyclopædia_Britannica` · `Enheduanna` · `Ensi_(Sumerian)` · `Epithet` · `Epoch_(astronomy)` · `Epoxy` · `Equator` · `Equivalent_dose` · `Eris_(dwarf_planet)` · `Escape_velocity` · `Etymonline` · `Europa_(moon)` · `Europe` · `European_Space_Agency` · `Executive_order` · `Exoplanetary_Circumstellar_Environments_and_Disk_Explorer` · `Exosphere` · `Exozodiacal_dust` · `Exploration_of_Jupiter` · `Exploration_of_Mars` · `Exploration_of_Mercury` · `Exploration_of_Neptune` · `Exploration_of_Pluto` · `Exploration_of_Saturn` · `Exploration_of_Uranus` · `Exploration_of_the_Moon` · `Explorer_49` · `Extraterrestrial_materials` · `Extraterrestrial_real_estate` · `Extraterrestrial_sample_curation` · `Extraterrestrial_sky` · `Extremes_on_Earth` · `Face_on_Moon_South_Pole` · `Fallen_Astronaut` · `Far_Ultraviolet_Camera/Spectrograph` · `Far_side_of_the_Moon` · `Fault_scarp` · `Fifth_Giant` · `Five-planet_Nice_model` · `Flag_of_Earth` · `Flattening` · `Flyby_(spaceflight)` · `Foot_per_second_squared` · `Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System` · `Fortnight` · `Fractional_crystallization_(geology)` · `Frame_of_reference` · `Francesco_Maria_Grimaldi` · `Friction` · `Frost_line_(astrophysics)` · `Full_moon` · `Future_of_Earth` · `G-force` · `Gaia_hypothesis` · `Galileo_Galilei` · `Ganymede_(moon)` · `Gas_giant` · `Gassendi_(crater)` · `Geocentric_orbit` · `Geocorona` · `Geodesy` · `Geodetic_astronomy` · `Geographical_pole` · `Geologic_province` · `Geologic_record` · `Geologic_time_scale` · `Geological_history_of_Earth` · `Geology` · `Geology_of_Mercury` · `Geology_of_solar_terrestrial_planets` · `Geology_of_the_Moon` · `Geomatics` · `Geophysical_Research_Letters` · `Geophysical_definition_of_planet` · `Geophysical_fluid_dynamics` · `Geophysical_imaging` · `Geophysics` · `Geopositioning` · `Georges_Méliès` · `Geoscientist_(magazine)` · `Giant-impact_hypothesis` · `Giant_planet` · `Giovanni_Battista_Riccioli` · `Global_surface_temperature` · `Goddard_Space_Flight_Center` · `Gonggong_(dwarf_planet)` · `Google_Maps` · `Gould_Belt` · `Gram_per_cubic_centimetre` · `Grand_tack_hypothesis` · `Gravitation_of_the_Moon` · `Gravitational_acceleration` · `Gravitational_collapse` · `Gravity_of_Earth` · `Grove_Karl_Gilbert` · `Gunpowder` · `Hadley–Apennine` · `Halo_(optical_phenomenon)` · `Han_dynasty` · `HarperCollins` · `Haumea` · `Hecate` · `Helaine_Selin` · `Heliocentrism` · [[Helium]] · [[Helium-4]] · `Henry_Liddell` · `Heraldry` · `Hermite_(crater)` · `Hill_sphere` · `Hills_cloud` · `Historical_models_of_the_Solar_System` · `History_of_Earth` · `History_of_Solar_System_formation_and_evolution_hypotheses` · `History_of_life` · `Hiten_(spacecraft)` · `Hiʻiaka_(moon)` · `Hollow_Moon` · `Horizon` · `Horned_deity` · `Human_history` · `Human_impact_on_the_environment` · `Human_mission_to_Mars` · `Human_presence_in_space` · `Human_spaceflight` · `Human_spaceflight_programs` · `Hydra_(moon)` · [[Hydrogen]] · `Hydrosphere` · `Hydrostatic_equilibrium` · `Hyginus_(crater)` · `Hyperion_(moon)` · `Hypothetical_moon_of_Mercury` · `ICUBE-Q` · `IM-1` · `IM-2` · `Iah` · `Iapetus_(moon)` · `Ibn_al-Haytham` · `Icarus_(journal)` · `Ice_giant` · `Ideal_gas_law` · `Ilmarë` · `Imbrian` · `Impact_crater` · `Impact_event` · `Impact_gardening` · `Imperialism` · [[In_situ_resource_utilization]] · `Ina_(crater)` · `Inanna` · `Indian_Ocean` · `Indian_astronomy` · `Indigenous_peoples` · `Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas` · `Inertia` · `Infrared_telescope` · `Inner_moon` · `Internal_structure_of_Earth` · `Internal_structure_of_the_Moon` · `International_Astronomical_Union` · `International_Geophysical_Year` · `International_Lunar_Exploration_Working_Group` · `International_Lunar_Research_Station` · `International_Space_Station` · `Internationalism_(politics)` · `Interplanetary_dust_cloud` · `Interplanetary_medium` · `Interstellar_cloud` · `Interstellar_medium` · `Io_(moon)` · `Ionic_liquid` · `Ionizing_radiation` · `Irregular_mare_patch` · `Irregular_moon` · `Islam` · `Islamic_calendar` · `Isotope` · `Janssen_(lunar_crater)` · `Jeremy_Hansen` · `Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory` · `Jing_Fang` · `Johann_Heinrich_von_Mädler` · `John_F._Kennedy` · `John_Young_(astronaut)` · `Journal_of_Geophysical_Research` · [[Jupiter]] · `Jupiter_trojan` · `K._V._Sarma` · `KREEP` · `Kelvin` · `Kerberos_(moon)` · `Khonsu` · `Kinetic_energy` · `Kirkwood_gap` · `Knowth` · `Kordylewski_cloud` · `Kristine_Spekkens` · `Kuiper_belt` · `LADEE` · `LCROSS` · `Lacus_Felicitatis` · `Lagrange_point` · `Lamassu` · `Lander_(spacecraft)` · `Landsat_program` · `Language_family` · `Laniakea_Supercluster` · `Late_Heavy_Bombardment` · `Latin` · `Leap_second` · `Leonardo_(journal)` · `Libration` · `Light-second` · `Linus_(moon)` · `List_of_Apollo_astronauts` · `List_of_Earth-crossing_asteroids` · `List_of_Jupiter-crossing_minor_planets` · `List_of_Jupiter_trojans_(Greek_camp)` · `List_of_Jupiter_trojans_(Trojan_camp)` · `List_of_Mars-crossing_minor_planets` · `List_of_Mercury-crossing_minor_planets` · `List_of_Solar_System_objects` · `List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size` · `List_of_Solar_System_probes` · `List_of_Venus-crossing_minor_planets` · `List_of_appearances_of_the_Moon_in_fiction` · `List_of_artificial_objects_on_the_Moon` · `List_of_brightest_natural_objects_in_the_sky` · `List_of_craters_on_the_Moon` · `List_of_craters_on_the_Moon:_A–B` · `List_of_craters_on_the_Moon:_C–F` · `List_of_craters_on_the_Moon:_G–K` · `List_of_craters_on_the_Moon:_L–N` · `List_of_craters_on_the_Moon:_O–Q` · `List_of_craters_on_the_Moon:_R–S` · `List_of_craters_on_the_Moon:_T–Z` · `List_of_crewed_spacecraft` · `List_of_exceptional_asteroids` · `List_of_extraterrestrial_memorials` · `List_of_extraterrestrial_orbiters` · `List_of_fictional_astronauts_(Project_Apollo_era)` · `List_of_fictional_astronauts_(futuristic_exploration_of_Moon)` · `List_of_gravitationally_rounded_objects_of_the_Solar_System` · `List_of_hypothetical_Solar_System_objects` · `List_of_interstellar_and_circumstellar_molecules` · `List_of_largest_craters_in_the_Solar_System` · `List_of_lunar_features` · `List_of_lunar_probes` · `List_of_missions_to_comets` · `List_of_missions_to_the_Moon` · `List_of_mountains_on_the_Moon` · `List_of_natural_satellites` · `List_of_objects_at_Lagrange_points` · `List_of_people_who_have_flown_to_the_Moon` · `List_of_people_with_craters_of_the_Moon_named_after_them` · `List_of_possible_dwarf_planets` · `List_of_quadrangles_on_the_Moon` · `List_of_sovereign_states` · `List_of_tallest_mountains_in_the_Solar_System` · `List_of_valleys_on_the_Moon` · `Local_Bubble` · `Local_Group` · `Local_Hole` · `Local_Interstellar_Cloud` · `Local_Sheet` · `Local_Volume` · `Location_of_Earth` · `Longitude_of_the_ascending_node` · `Low_Earth_orbit` · `Lucian` · `Luna-Glob` · `Luna_(goddess)` · `Luna_1` · `Luna_10` · `Luna_15` · `Luna_16` · `Luna_17` · `Luna_2` · `Luna_20` · `Luna_24` · `Luna_3` · `Luna_9` · `Luna_programme` · `Lunar_Flag_Assembly` · `Lunar_Laser_Ranging_experiments` · `Lunar_Module_Eagle` · `Lunar_New_Year` · `Lunar_Orbiter_1` · `Lunar_Orbiter_program` · `Lunar_Prospector` · `Lunar_Reconnaissance_Orbiter` · `Lunar_and_Planetary_Institute` · `Lunar_basalt_70017` · `Lunar_calendar` · `Lunar_craters` · `Lunar_day` · `Lunar_deity` · `Lunar_distance` · `Lunar_distance_(navigation)` · `Lunar_dome` · `Lunar_eclipse` · `Lunar_effect` · `Lunar_geologic_timescale` · `Lunar_habitation` · `Lunar_horizon_glow` · `Lunar_lava_tube` · `Lunar_limb` · `Lunar_magma_ocean` · `Lunar_mare` · `Lunar_meteorite` · `Lunar_month` · `Lunar_node` · `Lunar_north_pole` · `Lunar_observation` · `Lunar_orbit` · `Lunar_pareidolia` · `Lunar_phase` · `Lunar_plaque` · `Lunar_precession` · `Lunar_regolith` · `Lunar_resources` · `Lunar_rover` · `Lunar_sample_displays` · `Lunar_seismology` · `Lunar_south_pole` · `Lunar_standstill` · `Lunar_station` · `Lunar_swirls` · `Lunar_terrane` · `Lunar_theory` · `Lunar_water` · `Lunatic` · `Lunisolar_calendar` · `Lunokhod_1` · `Lunokhod_2` · `Mafic` · [[Magnesium]] · `Magnetic_field` · `Magnetic_field_of_the_Moon` · `Magnetometer` · `Magnetosphere` · `Mainland_Australia` · `Makemake` · `Man_in_the_Moon` · `Manfred_Memorial_Moon_Mission` · `Mantle_(geology)` · `March_equinox` · `Mare_Crisium` · `Mare_Imbrium` · `Mare_Ingenii` · `Mare_Marginis` · `Mare_Moscoviense` · `Mare_Orientale` · `Mare_Serenitatis` · `Mare_Smythii` · [[Mars]] · `Mars_trojan` · `Mass` · `Mass_concentration_(astronomy)` · `Mean_radius_(astronomy)` · `Meanings_of_minor-planet_names` · `Mene_(goddess)` · `Menstrual_cycle` · `Mercury_(planet)` · `Merriam-Webster` · `Mesopotamia` · `Mesosphere` · `Messier_(crater)` · `Meteor_shower` · `Meteoroid` · `Metonic_cycle` · `Metre` · `Metre_per_second` · `Metre_per_second_squared` · `Metztli` · `Micrometeorite` · `Microsecond` · `Middle_Ages` · `Milky_Way` · `Mimas` · `Mineral_physics` · `Minor-planet_moon` · `Minor_planet` · `Miranda_(moon)` · `Modern_era` · `Molecular_cloud` · `Moment_of_inertia_factor` · `Month` · [[Moon]] · `Moon_(disambiguation)` · `Moon_Impact_Probe` · `Moon_Mineralogy_Mapper` · `Moon_Museum` · `Moon_Treaty` · `Moon_illusion` · `Moon_in_science_fiction` · `Moon_landing` · `Moon_landing_conspiracy_theories` · `Moon_magic` · `Moon_rabbit` · `Moon_rock` · `Moonbase` · `Moonlet` · `Moonlight` · `Moonrise_and_moonset` · `Moons_of_Haumea` · `Moons_of_Jupiter` · `Moons_of_Mars` · `Moons_of_Neptune` · `Moons_of_Pluto` · `Moons_of_Saturn` · `Moons_of_Uranus` · `Muhammad` · `Multilateralism` · `NBC_News` · `Nadia_Drake` · `Naked_eye` · `Namaka_(moon)` · `Naming_of_moons` · `National_Geographic` · `Natural_environment` · `Natural_satellite` · `Natural_science` · `Nature` · `Nature_(journal)` · `Nature_Geoscience` · `Navajo_Nation` · `Navigation` · `Near-Earth_object` · `Near_side_of_the_Moon` · `Nebra_sky_disc` · `Nebular_hypothesis` · `Nectarian` · `Neil_Armstrong` · `Neith_(hypothetical_moon)` · `Nemesis_(hypothetical_star)` · [[Neon]] · `Neptune` · `Neptune_trojan` · `Nereid_(moon)` · `Neutron_radiation` · `New_Scientist` · `New_York_City` · `New_moon` · `Nibiru_cataclysm` · `Nice_2_model` · `Nice_model` · `Night_sky` · [[Nitrogen]] · `Nix_(moon)` · `Nodal_period` · `North` · `North_America` · `North_Pole` · `Northern_Hemisphere` · `Oberon_(moon)` · `Observable_universe` · `Observations_and_explorations_of_Venus` · `Occultation` · `Ocean` · `Oceanography` · `Oceanus_Procellarum` · `Octagram` · `Old_English` · `Olivine` · `Omicron_Centaurids` · `On_the_Heavens` · `On_the_Sizes_and_Distances_(Aristarchus)` · `Oort_cloud` · `Oort_limit` · `Orbit` · `Orbit_of_the_Moon` · `Orbital_eccentricity` · `Orbital_elements` · `Orbital_inclination` · `Orbital_period` · `Orbital_resonance` · `Orbital_speed` · `Orcus_(dwarf_planet)` · `Order_of_magnitude` · `Origin_of_the_Moon` · `Orion_(spacecraft)` · `Orion_Arm` · `Osculating_orbit` · `Outer_Space_Treaty` · `Outer_space` · `Outgassing` · `Outline_of_Earth` · `Outline_of_space_exploration` · `Outline_of_the_Moon` · `Outline_of_the_Solar_System` · `Overview_effect` · `Ovulation` · `Oxford_English_Dictionary` · `Oxford_University_Press` · [[Oxygen]] · `Pacific_Ocean` · `Pakistan` · `Paleoclimatology` · `Pascal_(unit)` · `Paul_Spudis` · `Peak_of_eternal_light` · `Peak_ring` · `Permanently_shadowed_crater` · `Personification` · `Perturbation_(astronomy)` · `Pete_Conrad` · `Petit-Prince_(moon)` · `Phaeton_(hypothetical_planet)` · `Phil_Plait` · `Philip_T._Metzger` · `Philosophical_Transactions_of_the_Royal_Society_A` · `Phobos_(moon)` · `Phoebe_(moon)` · `Photodissociation` · `Pioneer_10` · `Pisces–Cetus_Supercluster_Complex` · `Pit_crater` · `Plagioclase` · `Planet` · `Planet_Nine` · `Planet_V` · `Planetary-mass_moon` · `Planetary-mass_object` · `Planetary_and_Space_Science` · `Planetary_core` · `Planetary_differentiation` · `Planetary_migration` · `Planetary_objects_proposed_in_religion,_astrology,_ufology_and_pseudoscience` · `Planetary_protection` · `Planetary_science` · [[Planetary_system]] · `Planetesimal` · `Planets_beyond_Neptune` · `Plate_tectonics` · `Pleiades` · `Pliny_the_Elder` · `Plutino` · `Pluto` · `Polar_night` · `Politics_of_outer_space` · `Polonium-210` · `Popular_Astronomy_(US_magazine)` · [[Potassium]] · `Potentially_hazardous_object` · `Prebiotic_atmosphere` · `Precession` · `Precipitation_(chemistry)` · `Primary_body` · `Prophecy` · `Proteus_(moon)` · `Protoplanetary_disk` · `Provisional_designation_in_astronomy` · `Psychological_Bulletin` · `Ptolemy` · `Pyroclastic_rock` · `Qi` · `Quake_(natural_phenomenon)` · `Quaoar` · `Quasi-satellite` · `Queen_of_Heaven` · `Radio_telescope` · [[Radioactive_decay]] · `Radius` · [[Radon]] · `Ranger_program` · `Ray_system` · `Red_giant` · `Reflectance` · [[Regolith]] · `Regular_moon` · `Reid_Wiseman` · `Reiner_Gamma` · `Remus_(moon)` · `Reviews_in_Mineralogy_and_Geochemistry` · `Reviews_of_Geophysics` · `Rhea_(moon)` · `Richard_Feynman` · `Right_ascension` · `Rille` · `Ring_system` · `Rings_of_Chariklo` · `Rings_of_Earth` · `Rings_of_Jupiter` · `Rings_of_Neptune` · `Rings_of_Rhea` · `Rings_of_Saturn` · `Rings_of_Uranus` · `Robert_Scott_(philologist)` · `Robin_Canup` · `Roche_limit` · `Romulus_(moon)` · `Rotation` · `Rotation_period_(astronomy)` · `Routledge` · `Rover_(space_exploration)` · `Royal_Astronomical_Society_of_New_Zealand` · `Rubble_pile` · `S/2015_(136472)_1` · `SMART-1` · `Sample-return_mission` · `Saros_(astronomy)` · `Satellite_galaxies_of_the_Milky_Way` · `Satellite_system_(astronomy)` · `Saturn` · `Scattered_disc` · `Schiller_(crater)` · `Schroter's_Valley` · [[Science_(journal)]] · `Science_Express` · `Secondary_crater` · `Sedna_(dwarf_planet)` · `Sednoid` · `Seismology` · `Seismometer` · `Selam_(moon)` · `Selene` · `Selenean_summit` · [[Selenium]] · `Selenographic_coordinate_system` · `Selenography` · `Seleucus_of_Seleucia` · `Semi-major_and_semi-minor_axes` · `September_equinox` · `Shen_Kuo` · `Shi_Shen` · `Shield_volcano` · `Sidereus_Nuncius` · [[Signal_processing]] · `Silicon_dioxide` · [[Silver]] · `Sin_(mythology)` · `Small_Solar_System_body` · `Smart_Lander_for_Investigating_Moon` · [[Sodium]] · `Sodium_tail_of_the_Moon` · `Soft_landing` · `Solar_System` · `Solar_System_model` · `Solar_corona` · `Solar_eclipse` · `Solar_eclipses_on_the_Moon` · `Solar_irradiance` · `Solar_symbol` · `Solar_wind` · `Solid_angle` · `Song_dynasty` · `South_America` · `South_Pole` · `South_Pole–Aitken_basin` · `Southern_Hemisphere` · `Southern_Ocean` · `Soviet_Union` · `Space.com` · `SpaceNews` · `Space_Race` · `Space_advocacy` · `Space_archaeology` · `Space_art` · `Space_burial` · `Space_colonization` · `Space_debris` · `Space_exploration` · `Space_habitat_(facility)` · `Space_law` · `Space_probe` · `Space_rendezvous` · `Space_station` · `Space_sustainability` · `Space_telescope` · `Space_weathering` · `Spacecraft` · `Spaceflight` · `Spaceship_Earth` · `Spheroid` · `Splitting_of_the_Moon` · `Springer_Science+Business_Media` · `Sputnik_1` · `Sputtering` · `Squannit_(moon)` · `Standard_gravity` · `Star_and_crescent` · `Star_formation` · `Star_of_Ishtar` · `Static_electricity` · `Stellar_collision` · `Stellar_corona` · `Stereoscopy` · `Stratigraphy` · [[Stratosphere]] · `Stratospheric_Observatory_for_Infrared_Astronomy` · `Styx_(moon)` · `Subsatellite` · [[Sun]] · `Sun-synchronous_orbit` · `Sunlight` · `Supermoon` · `Surface_gravity` · `Surveyor_3` · `Surveyor_7` · `Surveyor_program` · `Symbols_of_Islam` · `Synestia` · `Synodic_day` · `Syzygy_(astronomy)` · `Tally_stick` · `Tardigrade` · `Taruntius_(crater)` · `Taurids` · `Taurus–Littrow` · `Telescope` · `Temperature` · `Terence_Dickinson` · `Terminator_(solar)` · `Terrestrial_planet` · `Tesla_(unit)` · `Tethys_(moon)` · `Tetrad_(astronomy)` · `The_Astronomical_Journal` · `The_Astrophysical_Journal` · `The_Hindu` · `The_Moon_is_made_of_green_cheese` · `The_New_York_Times` · `The_Planetary_Society` · `The_Press-Enterprise` · `The_Space_Review` · `The_Starry_Night` · `The_Washington_Post` · `Theia_(hypothetical_planet)` · `Themis_(hypothetical_moon)` · `Theory_of_tides` · `Thermosphere` · `Thomas_Harriot` · `Thoth` · `Tidal_acceleration` · `Tidal_force` · `Tidal_heating` · `Tidal_locking` · `Tidal_range` · `Tide` · `Time_zone` · `Timekeeping_on_the_Moon` · `Timeline_of_Solar_System_exploration` · `Timeline_of_discovery_of_Solar_System_planets_and_their_moons` · `Timeline_of_first_images_of_Earth_from_space` · `Titan_(moon)` · `Titania_(moon)` · `Torque` · `Total_penumbral_lunar_eclipse` · `Tourism_on_the_Moon` · `Tracy's_Rock` · `Tranquility_Base` · `Trans-Neptunian_object` · `Transient_lunar_phenomenon` · `Trigonometry` · `Triple_deity` · `Triton_(moon)` · `Trojan_(celestial_body)` · `Tropic_of_Cancer` · `Tropic_of_Capricorn` · `Tropical_year` · `Tropics` · `Troposphere` · `Tu'er_Ye` · `Tweet_(social_media)` · `Tyche_(hypothetical_planet)` · `Tycho_(lunar_crater)` · `Tēcciztēcatl` · `Umbriel` · `Uncertainty_parameter` · `Unit_of_time` · `United_Nations` · `United_Nations_Office_for_Outer_Space_Affairs` · `United_States` · `United_States_Geological_Survey` · `Universe` · `Universe_Today` · `University_of_Arizona_Press` · `University_of_St_Andrews` · `Upper_mantle` · `Ur-Nammu` · `Uranus` · `Vacuum` · `Val_Plumwood` · `Vanth_(moon)` · `Velificatio` · `Venera_program` · [[Venus]] · `Venus_of_Laussel` · `Vesak` · `Victor_Glover` · `Vincent_van_Gogh` · `Virgo_Supercluster` · `Virtual_globe` · `Vision_for_Space_Exploration` · `Volcanism` · `Volcanism_on_the_Moon` · `Volume` · `Vulcan_(hypothetical_planet)` · `Vulcanoid` · `Walter_Eugene_Clark` · `Water` · [[Wayback_Machine]] · `Weather` · `Week` · `Wet_moon` · `Weywot` · `Whitey_on_the_Moon` · `Wilhelm_Beer` · `William_Anders` · `World` · `World_Heritage_Site` · `World_War_II` · `World_economy` · `Wrinkle_ridge` · `Writing` · `Writing_system` · `Xiangliu_(moon)` · `Yutu_(rover)` · `Zenith_telescope` · `Zond_5` · `Zond_6` · `Zooplankton` ## Plate !Moon plate.svg *Engraved plate: MTN / Wikitube.io original · CC BY-SA 4.0.* > **Official MAIN — Natural satellite (Earth).** Mining survey of the Space Mining In Minnesota CoE, on the Technate Expansion schema — ring **R3 Cislunar**. Address: ~384,400 km from the Centroid. Sibling surveys: the 14-body index. ## Mining Survey **Confirmed resources.** Water ice in permanently shadowed polar craters (LCROSS impact confirmation; SOFIA detected molecular water in sunlit regolith); helium-3 implanted in regolith by solar wind (the canonical lunar prize — and the resource Minnesota's Topaz discovery produced terrestrially first); ilmenite (FeTiO3 — oxygen, iron, titanium feedstock); KREEP terrane rare elements; silicon and aluminum in highland anorthosite. **Extraction constraints.** Shallow gravity well (2.38 km/s escape) and 3-day logistics make the Moon the near-term ISRU target; 14-day nights, abrasive regolith, and polar cold traps (~40 K) are the engineering walls. **Survey status.** Best-mapped body after Earth: LRO/LROC global mosaics, LOLA topography, Unified Geologic Map (USGS), SOFIA water maps. Artemis targets the south polar cold traps. ## Coordinate Frame Selenographic (mean-Earth frame). Atlas: `Interplanetary-Atlas/Bodies/Moon` (harvest complete; coords UNVERIFIED pending Mac pass). ## Vocational-Technical Semiotics Speaks the CoE's survey sign systems — geologic map symbols (exported off-world), phase diagrams (ice/volatile stability), crystallographic symbols (mineralogy), hazard pictograms ghs (volatiles handling) — per the CoE semiotics block. <!-- SEMIOTIC-VOCAB:START --> ## Semiotic Vocabulary | Term | Notation / glyph | Sign system | Meaning at this body | |------|------------------|-------------|----------------------| | Lunar crescent | ☽ (U+263D) | astronomical symbols | The Moon in its waxing/waning phase; primary astronomical symbol for Luna in classical notation. | | Selenographic latitude | φ (degrees, ±0° to ±90°) | geographic notation | North-south position on lunar surface; 0° = lunar equator, ±90° = poles (e.g., South Pole-Aitken basin at −82°). | | Selenographic longitude | λ (degrees, 0° to 360° or ±180°) | geographic notation | East-west position on lunar surface; mean-Earth frame sets 0° meridian facing Earth, positive west (IAU convention). | | Mare | Mare (Latin) + descriptor (e.g., Mare Tranquillitatis) | geologic map symbols | Dark lowland region; ancient basaltic plain formed by lunar volcanism. The Moon has ~30 named maria; Tranquillitatis = Apollo 11 landing site. | | Mons | Lunar mountain (e.g., Mons Huygens, Leibnitz/Rook Mts at rim) | geologic map symbols | Isolated peak or mountain range; elevation relative to surrounding terrain per LOLA topography (±10 m precision). | | Rima | Narrow sinuous valley (e.g., Rima Hadley) | geologic map symbols | Linear rift or sinuous channel; evidence of subsurface lava tubes or tectonic extension; typically <5 km wide. | | Rille | Similar to rima; often used interchangeably (e.g., Hadley-Apennine valley) | geologic map symbols | Often synonym for rima in English nomenclature; IAU descriptor for sinuous features. | | He-3 isotope | ³He (or ³₂He) | nuclear symbols | Rare isotope implanted in lunar regolith by solar wind over billions of years; concentration ~1 ppb; strategic fuel for future He-3 fusion reactors. | | Regolith grain grade | Fines (< 10 μm) · Sand (10 μm–2 mm) · Pebbles (2–64 mm) | geologic map symbols | Lunar soil texture; fines are highly abrasive (sharp, jagged); returned samples show 1–5 mm mean grain size; grade affects extraction and equipment wear. | | Permanently shadowed region (PSR) | Hatched or darkened zone on phase map | geologic map symbols + phase diagrams | Polar crater interior receiving <1.5 W/m² annual solar energy; temperature ~40 K; water-ice trap; Artemis priority zone (South Pole-Aitken, Shackleton crater). | | Phase diagram (ice stability) | H₂O state curve: liquid–solid–vapor | phase diagrams | PSR cold-trap equilibrium diagram; shows water remains solid (no sublimation) below ~170 K in shadow; critical for ISRU water extraction. | | Tycho rays | Bright radial streaks from Tycho crater | geologic map symbols | Secondary ejecta rays visible at full Moon; extend 1500+ km; young crater (~100 Myr); rays fade over time due to space weathering. | | Crater age dating | K-Ar or Ar-Ar notation: e.g., "3.8 Ga" | crystallographic symbols | Radiometric age expressed in Ga (giga-annum = 10⁹ years) or Ma (mega-annum = 10⁶ years); lunar samples tied to crater model chronology (LROC, CSFD). | <!-- SEMIOTIC-VOCAB:END --> ## Navigation - Space Mining In Minnesota CoE · Technate Expansion · All 14 surveys - Centers of Excellence Portal ## Wikipedia : Wikitube **Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Moon) ## Previous hub tags Tree parents: [[Helium]] · [[Helium-3]] · [[Oxygen]]. Legacy hubs: none. *Legacy media (later editing), kept in place under `Wikitube - Collision And Promoted Articles/Moon/`: `Moon Images` (1)* --- *Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*