MAN ON THE MOON

The Earth has only one moon orbiting around it. Our Moon is a dry and dusty place, pockmarked with craters. Once, there may have been life there, but no traces have yet been found. The only way that the Moon might support life in the future is if it comes from Earth, a manned lunar space station would provide a useful launch site for exploring our Solar System and beyond. But life could only be sustained if there is water on the Moon.

How was the Moon formed?
The Earth and the Moon are locked together in their joint orbit of the Sun, and they are made from rock of the same age, about 4.5 billion years old. They are so similar that it is likely the Moon was originally part of the Earth, but was torn from it when the Earth collided with another planet. The Earth surface was torn apart in the collision, and gas, molten lava and rocks from the Earth's interior were thrown into space. These cooled and condensed into a single ball with a hard crust orbiting the Earth as our Moon.