True or False: Astonishing facts about the moon

What do you know about our natural satellite?

Various sources, among others: NASA Wikipedia ESA Guardian NASA TNI Farmer’s Almanac Astronomy essentials

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Last updated: August 24, 2023

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First submitted	November 17, 2020
Times taken	76
Average score	53.3%
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1. The United States were the first country to land on the moon.

True ✓

False ✓

Soviet Luna 2 was the first human made object to touch the moon in 1959 (deliberate crash). Luna 9 was the first object to land smoothly in 1966.

2. The Americas' surface is bigger than the moon's.

True ✓

False ✓

North and South America: 42.5 million km2. Moon: 38 million km2.

3. The moon used to be 15 times closer to Earth than today.

True ✓

False ✓

It is believed that after its formation around 4.5 billion years ago, the moon orbited the earth in an est. distance of 20'000 to 30'000 km, which would have caused tides of 1000 m.

4. The moon has grown by about 50 m in diameter in the past few hundred million years.

True ✓

False ✓

According to NASA studies, it has shrunk by this amount.

5. Oxygen could be extracted from lunar dust.

True ✓

False ✓

According to ESA, lunar regolith is made up of 40 to 45% percent oxygen by weight. A prototype oxygen plant has been opened in the Netherlands.

6. US astronaut Sam Shepard played golf on the moon and hit the ball several hundred meters in 1971.

True ✓

False ✓

"Miles and miles and miles", he joked on the shot. In reality he may have surpassed Mike Austin's world record (471 m), but fell most probably short of the mile.

7. Dozens of new craters are forming every year on the moon.

True ✓

False ✓

According to studies based on before-and-after images, it is believed that around 180 new craters at least 10 metres in diameter are forming every year.

8. Moon dust smells like gunpowder.

True ✓

False ✓

Several NASA astronauts have described it. The reason for it is unknown, however.

9. Only 50 percent of the moon's surface can be seen from Earth.

True ✓

False ✓

Due to the moon's motion called lunar libration, up to 59% of its surface can be seen over time.

10. The coldest natural temperature in our solar system has been recorded on the moon.

True ✓

False ✓

NASA has measured a temperature of -250 degrees Celsius inside Hermite crater at the moon's north pole. That's colder than on Pluto.

11. Astronauts have placed mirrors on the moon in order to make it shine brighter.

True ✓

False ✓

It is true that three American and two Soviet missions have placed reflectors on the moon. But they are used to continuously measure the distance between Earth and the moon by laser.

12. Three days after a full moon, its brightness has decreased by more than half.

True ✓

False ✓

Only at full moon the sunlight reflects in a 180-degree-angle. As the angle narrows a large part of the sunlight gets deviated due to the uneven surface of the moon. 2.4 days after full moon, it shines only half as bright. A half moon (90 degree reflection) is only about 1/10 as bright as a full moon.

13. The USA and the Soviet Union considered detonating a nuclear bomb on the moon in the 1950s.

True ✓

False ✓

The secret US project was called A119 and revealed by Leonard Reiffel in 2000. According to Russian engineer Aleksandr Zheleznyakov a similar project existed in the USSR.

14. According to the Outer Space Treaty, which entered into force in 1967, any nation landing on the moon can claim sovereignty of an area of 100'000 square km.

True ✓

False ✓

The treaty prohibits claiming sovereignty of the moon and limits use of the moon to peaceful purposes only.

15. The United States were the last country to make a successful landing on the moon.

True ✓

False ✓

The Indian Chandrayaan-3 mission resulted in a successful landing on Aug. 23, 2023

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