The moon: Learn about the Moon's

Learn about the Moon's features, phases, history and exploration with NASA. Find out how the Moon was formed, what it looks like from Earth and why it has no atmosphere. Moon On this page: Moon Moon’s Formation Atmosphere of Moon Robotic Race to the Moon Human Race to the Moon Moon The Moon is Earth’s nearest neighbor. It orbits the Earth at an average distance of approximately 240,000 miles (384,000 km). The Moon completes an orbit of the Earth every 27.3 days (approximately 655 hours). The Moon also rotates on its axis. Because of tidal forces, it completes one revolution every 655 hours. So, one “side” of the Moon is always facing the Earth, and ... Our Moon is slowly drifting away from Earth, not just due to tidal friction as previously thought. New research suggests ancient planetary impacts and Earth's internal cooling, causing contraction ... The Moon (or Luna) is the Earth’s only natural satellite and was formed 4.6 billion years ago around some 30–50 million years after the formation of the solar system. The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth meaning the same side is always facing the Earth. The first uncrewed mission to the Moon was in 1959 by the Soviet Lunar Program with the first crewed landing being Apollo 11 in 1969.