Phase Observation and Lunar Features

The life of the moon has piqued the imagination of both laypeople and scientists. In certain cases, all sides attempt to explain its origins and debunk certain myths about it. The idea that it is thought that there is a chance that living beings will live on the moon. This research paper is based on this hypothesis, and it investigates the different hypotheses of how the moon was created, explains the Apollo moon landing program, and offers recommendations.

Theories on how the Earth and the Moon were Formed

Several theories including the fission theory, the capture theory, the co-accretion theory, and the giant impact hypothesis have been developed with the sole aim of explaining how the moon was formed. In the fission theory, it is argued that the moon was formed after separation from the earth. With specific reference to the earth’s history and spinning, it is assumed in the theory that the moon originates from the Pacific Ocean due to its high resemblance to the earth’s mantle. However, on further examination and analysis, the moon’s composition and content greatly differs from that found on earth and in the Pacific Ocean. To be exact the composition of the moon is older when compared to the evidence found on earth thus highly unlikely of the earth being the source of the moon.

On the other hand, the capture theory posits that, being part of the solar system, the moon is fully independent of the earth. In the theory, it is pointed out that, the moon’s existence is attributable to the earth’s gravitational force. This is in the sense that, the earth’s gravitational pull captured the moon thus it became entrenched on earth where we can see it. However, on closer analysis, it is believed the earth and the moon were formed in the same period of time. For this reason, it would have been tricky for the earth’s gravitational pull to capture the moon. In addition, chances of alteration occurring on the force of gravity after the moon was captured are high.

When it comes to the co-accretion theory, it is believed that the moon and the earth came into existence together. This is while going round a black hole. Nonetheless, the theory not only fails to explain the discrepancies in density existing between the moon and earth but also the reason as to why the moon currently orbits the earth.

Lastly, the giant impact theory asserts that, the moon and the earth were formulated at the same time after a small planet collided with the earth after the solar system was formed. This in turn resulted in large volumes of hot material that later condensed to form the moon. Through this, the composition of the moon (rocks) can easily be explained. However, other aspects such as chemical composition cannot be fully explained.

Description of Apollo Moon Landing Program

In order to land in the moon and safely get people back to planet earth, the Apollo landing program was formulated. In order to test the moon’s modules, several Apollos ranging from Apollo 1 to Apollo 17 were developed and sent to the moon. The first 6 failed due to accidents and various malfunctions. The first successful attempt to get to the moon was Apollo 7 but it never brought back any data. Similarly, Apollo 9 also failed to bring back any data for analysis. However, Apollos 10 and 8 were successful since data in form of photography of the moon was moon was brought back for analysis. Due to system malfunction, Apollo 13 failed to land on the moon despite bringing back photographic evidence. The other seven launched missions namely; Apollos 11, 16, 12, 10, 17, 15 and 14 successfully landed in the moon and brought back valuable data for analysis such as soil, meteoroids, seismic, magnetic fields and heat flow among others for analysis.

Summary of Most Recent (Past 15 Years) Missions to the Moon

Since 2007, several spacecrafts have been sent on a mission to the moon by different operators. To begin with, in 2007, spacecrafts by the names Artemis P1 and P2, Kaguya, Okina, Ouna and Change 1 were sent on a mission to orbit around the moon. Of these, only the Artemis’ are still operational the other four spacecrafts were successful. The year 2008 saw Chandrayaan-1 an orbiter that confirmed there is water on the moon and Moon impact probe an impactor were successfully sent to the moon. The following year, NASA scientists sent out spacecraft LRO and LCROSS the former an orbiter that is still in operation while the latter an impactor that successfully completed its mission. 2010 saw spacecraft Change 2 an orbiter being launched on a mission by CNSA that was completed successfully. Scientists from NASA again successfully sent out orbiters Ebb and Flow spacecrafts in 2011 and Ladee in 2013. In the latter year, CNSA scientists also successfully launched a Change 3 spacecraft on a mission to lander/rover on the moon. The same scientists launched a Chnge 5-T1 spacecraft on a mission to flyby the moon that is still in operational. However, the 4M Flyby spacecraft launched by Luxspace in the same year was successful.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this research paper has extensively looked at the moon and the various attempts made by scientists to understand its origin, composition and whether living things can survive. It has been found that though with numerous assumptions, several theories with the inclusion of the Fission theory and the capture theory attempt to explain how the moon was formed. From the discussions, it has also been discovered that, seven of the Apollos missions launched under the Apollo program were successful. In the last 15 years, it has also been seen that most of the missions to the moon are either successful or still operational.