Moon

Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite.

The **Moon**, also known as Luna, is a body orbiting Earth as the planet's only natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest satellite in the Solar System and after Jupiter's satellite Io, the second-densest satellite in the Solar System. The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, and thus always shows the same side to Earth. The Moon's average orbital distance is 384,404 km (238,857 mi), or 1.28 light-seconds.

Moon has been the first source of Helium-3, and is being mined for many other minerals needed for the construction of space habitats and starships. There are more than 770 million people living on the surface, with many important orbital stations making the Moon a major transport hub in the Solar System.

## Physical Characteristics

The Moon is a very slightly scalene ellipsoid due to tidal stretching, with its long axis displaced 30° from facing the Earth (due to gravitational anomalies from impact basins). Its shape is more elongated than current tidal forces can account for.

### Geology

The topography of the Moon has been measured with laser altimetry and stereo image analysis. Its most visible topographic feature is the giant south pole Aitken basin, with 2,242.3 km (1,393 mi) in diameter, the largest crater on the Moon and the one of the largest impact crater in the Solar System. At 13 km (8.1 mi) deep, its floor is the lowest point on the surface of the Moon. The highest elevations of the surface are located directly to the northeast, and it have been thickened by the impact of the south pole.

The discovery of fault scarp cliffs by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter suggest that the Moon has shrunk within the past billion years, by about 90 meters (300 ft.). Similar shrinkage features exist on Mercury. Mare Frigoris area near the north pole, a vast basin assumed to be geologically dead, has been cracking and shifting in the past 200 years. Since the Moon doesn't have tectonic plates, its tectonic activity is slow and cracks develop as it loses heat over the years.

## Colonization

### Early History

Moon's early colonization began back in 2019, with the announcement of the Artemis Program to return humanity to the Moon. By 2024, NASA Astronauts Sarah Riley (the first woman on Moon) and Jonathan Atkins landed on the Moon successfully. In 2028, NASA established Artemis base camp, the first official human colony outside of Earth. It consisted of three main modules: the Foundational Surface Habitat, the Habitable Mobility Platform, and the Lunar Terrain Vehicle. The main purpose of the colony was to study technologies to put humans on Mars. In between 2028 and 2040, Moon became the center of attention for many space agencies, with major countries establishing research outposts on the Moon. By 2040, space companies, in a collaboration with several space agencies such as NASA, ESA and JAXA, proposed the construction of the first Industrial Complex on the Moon and outer space to mine and produce Helium-3 and rocket fuel, which was accepted by the UN in 2041. This led to the establishment of United Nations Colonial Affairs to oversee colonial and economical efforts of Humanity in outer space. A consortium of several companies named Selene co-funded the project to build the first commercial space port known as the Lunar Gateway Port, and an industrial complex named Eclipse. the industrial complex was opened in 2052 and is producing spaceship fuel and oxygen for space use to this day. After 2050s the Moon became quite backwater as all companies shifted their focus on Mars. but after the fall of Mars and the establishment of the Mavors Imperium, the Moon became the center of attention for Earth, and today, dome cities dot the surface with domed highways connecting them.

Lunar Outposts in 21st Century
 China & Russia
 Japan
 India

## See Also

* Planet Earth
* Solar System