ASTRONOMY (THE MOON): "FACTS ABOUT THE MOON
(NASA, 'The Solar System,' ASEP, 1989, p. 4.) "
* First spacecraft impact on the Moon: Luna 1 (USSR), 1959.

* Discovery that the lunar farside consists almost entirely of highland regions, with no maria (large dark basins): Luna 3, 1959.

* Investigation of the details of the lunar surface by the U.S. Ranger 7, 8, and 9 spacecraft in 1964-1965 revealed a gently rolling terrain with no sharp relief; there is a layer of powdery rubble, with rocks and craters down to at least one meter in diameter everywhere.

* Diana, or Luna, is the Roman goddess of the Moon, animals, and hunting.

* The Moon is the Earth's natural satellite.

* The Moon's average distance from the Earth is 238,328 miles.

* The Moon has only one-sixth of the Earth's gravity.

* The Moon's diameter is 2,155 miles.

* The Moon's surface is either hot or cold.

* The Moon has no magnetic field.

* The Moon has light and dark areas (highlands and seas).

* Huge meteorites bombarded the Moon's surface and left hundreds of thousands of impact craters.

* The Moon passes through phases as it travels around the Earth.

* Human beings have landed six times (12 men) on the Moon.

* Eight hundred and forty-two pounds of rock and soil samples have been returned from the Moon.

* No life, no water, and no oxygen have been found on the Moon.

* The Moon has also been studied by the unmanned Ranger, Surveyor, Lunar Orbiter and Russian Luna landings.

* High and low tides on Earth's oceans are affected by the Moon's gravitational pull.

* The question "Where did the Moon come from?" has not been answered.