What exactly is the distance from the Earth to the Moon? Science answers!

Despite the distance and difficulties, humanity’s reaching the Moon is one of the greatest achievements of our civilization. After the space race between the United States and Russia, traveling to space became a more common mission; But traveling to the Moon wasn’t like that.

As a result of the conflict over who would reach the natural satellite first, the Moon journey program was closed due to high costs and the perception that ‘there wasn’t much to do there’. In this case, the USA won the race.

Fortunately for astronomy enthusiasts, the situation has changed and For scientists developing theories about the possibility of creating a space station on the Moon.

A few years ago, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the return of a lunar program with ambitious plans, including the creation of a base on a natural satellite. The mission, called Artemis, aims to perform a new manned landing on the Moon.

The Apollo program, which carried out the first manned trips to the Moon, ended after its last mission in 1972. Now, with the discovery that the satellite contains icy water with the Artemis mission, NASA plans to further explore the structure of the Moon. and helium-3, a material not found on Earth that could be used to produce the “fuel of the future.”

But after all What exactly is the distance from the Earth to the Moon? First of all, it is important to understand that there is no fixed distance.Because the Moon’s orbit around the Earth is elliptical. This means it has a slightly elongated shape, causing the distance to vary over time.

“Early in lunar history the Moon was much closer [mas] It has been slowly moving away from Earth for more than 4 billion years, NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project scientist Noah Petro said in a message posted to the website. Live Science.

Exact distance between Earth and Moon

THE The average distance from Earth to the Moon is 384,400 kilometerswith a slight change of about 2 centimeters. On the other hand, the minimum distance can be up to 363,300 kilometers and the maximum distance can be up to 405,500 kilometers; These periods are called perigee and apogee, respectively.

“Why are you talking about average distance? The Moon is not always the same distance from the Earth. The orbit is not a perfect circle. At its farthest, the Moon is 405,500 km away. That’s almost 32 Earths. The Moon is 363,300 kilometers away at its closest point. This is a number between 28 and 29 Earths,” explains NASA.

According to Craig Hardgrove, professor of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, the first measurements of the distance to the Moon were made by the astronauts themselves.

During missions, astronauts placed reflective mirrors on the lunar surface. Using laser technology it was possible to measure the beam reflection time and thus accurately calculate the distance. It is important to emphasize that the average distance can be used to make calculations on Earth or simply to understand the size of the distance between celestial objects.

But for a mission that plans to actually land on the Moon, scientists need much more precise measurements. In addition to measuring the exact distance to the Moon during rocket launchThe space team also needs to accurately obtain other data required for landing.

“The change in distance between perigee and apogee…may affect the travel time by a small margin. [Mas] Other factors such as orbit, landing site conditions and sunlight tend to be more important considerations for Moon missions, Hardgrove told the website. Live Science.

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