Editing Moon (section)

==Human presence==
{{See also|Human presence in space}}
[[File:Moon Soft Landings.svg|thumb|Map of all the sites of [[soft landing]]s on the Moon (2024)]]

In 1959 the first extraterrestrial probes reached the Moon ([[Luna program]]), just a year into the [[space age]], after the first ever orbital flight. Since then, humans have sent a range of probes and people to the Moon. The first stay of people on the Moon was conducted in 1969, in a series of crewed exploration missions (the [[Apollo Program]]), the last having taken place in 1972.

Uninterrupted presence has been the case through the [[List of artificial objects on the Moon|remains]] of impactors, landings and [[List of extraterrestrial orbiters#Moon|lunar orbiters]]. Some landings and orbiters have maintained a small lunar infrastructure, providing continuous observation and communication at the Moon.

Increasing human activity in [[cislunar space]] as well as on the Moon's surface, particularly missions at the far side of the Moon or the [[Lunar north pole|lunar north]] and [[Lunar south pole|south polar]] regions, are in need for a lunar infrastructure. For that purpose, orbiters in [[lunar orbit|orbits around the Moon]] or [[List of objects at Lagrange points#Earth–Moon Lagrange points|the Earth–Moon Lagrange points]], have since 2006 been operated. With highly [[Orbital eccentricity|eccentric orbits]] providing continuous communication, as with the orbit of [[Queqiao]] and [[Queqiao-2 relay satellite]] or the planned first extraterrestrial space station, the [[Lunar Gateway]].<ref name="Williams 2022">{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Matt |title=A CubeSat is Flying to the Moon to Make Sure Lunar Gateway's Orbit is Actually Stable |website=Universe Today |date=May 14, 2022 |url=https://www.universetoday.com/155842/a-cubesat-is-flying-to-the-moon-to-make-sure-lunar-gateways-orbit-is-actually-stable-1/ |access-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217015619/https://www.universetoday.com/155842/a-cubesat-is-flying-to-the-moon-to-make-sure-lunar-gateways-orbit-is-actually-stable-1/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Phys.org 2021">{{cite web |title=Queqiao: The bridge between Earth and the far side of the moon |website=Phys.org |date=June 11, 2021 |url=https://phys.org/news/2021-06-queqiao-bridge-earth-side-moon.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217015553/https://phys.org/news/2021-06-queqiao-bridge-earth-side-moon.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Human impact ===
{{See also|Space debris|Space sustainability|List of artificial objects on the Moon|Space art#Art in space|Moonbase|Lunar resources #Mining|Tourism on the Moon|Space archaeology}}

[[File:ALSEP_AS17-134-20500.jpg|Artifacts of human activity, [[Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package|Apollo 17's Lunar Surface Experiments Package]]<ref name="Garber 2012" />|thumb|right]]

While the Moon has the lowest [[Planetary protection#Target categories|planetary protection target-categorization]], its degradation as a pristine body and scientific place has been discussed.<ref name="Vidaurri 2019">{{cite web |last=Vidaurri |first=Monica |title=Will people go to space—and then colonize it? |website=Quartz |date=October 24, 2019 |url=https://qz.com/1734103/will-people-go-to-space-and-then-colonize-it/ |access-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109040803/https://qz.com/1734103/will-people-go-to-space-and-then-colonize-it/ |url-status=live}}</ref> If there is [[#Astronomy from the Moon|astronomy performed from the Moon]], it will need to be free from any physical and [[radio pollution]]. While the Moon has no significant atmosphere, traffic and impacts on the Moon causes clouds of dust that can spread far and possibly contaminate the original state of the Moon and its special scientific content.<ref name="David 2020">{{cite web |last=David |first=Leonard |title=Cold as (lunar) ice: Protecting the moon's polar regions from contamination |website=Space.com |date=August 21, 2020 |url=https://www.space.com/moon-ice-mining-contamination-concerns.html |access-date=February 3, 2022 |archive-date=February 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204000406/https://www.space.com/moon-ice-mining-contamination-concerns.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Scholar [[Alice Gorman]] asserts that, although the Moon is inhospitable, it is not dead, and that sustainable human activity would require treating the Moon's ecology as a co-participant.<ref name="Gorman 2022">{{cite web |last=Gorman |first=Alice |title=#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: An ecofeminist approach to the sustainable use of the Moon |website=SpaceWatch.Global |date=July 1, 2022 |url=https://spacewatch.global/2022/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-an-ecofeminist-approach-to-the-sustainable-used-of-the-moon/ |access-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-date=July 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704024322/https://spacewatch.global/2022/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-an-ecofeminist-approach-to-the-sustainable-used-of-the-moon/ |url-status=live}} Note: see [[Val Plumwood]] which Alice Gorman cites regarding co-participation.</ref>

The so-called "[[Tardigrades on the Moon|Tardigrade affair]]" of the 2019 crashed [[Beresheet]] lander and its carrying of [[tardigrade]]s has been discussed as an example for lacking measures and lacking international regulation for [[planetary protection]].<ref name="Alvarez 2020 p."/>

[[Space debris]] beyond Earth around the Moon has been considered as a future challenge with increasing numbers of missions to the Moon, particularly as a danger for such missions.<ref name="Carter 2022">{{cite web |last=Carter |first=Jamie |title=As Chinese Rocket Strikes Moon This Week We Need To Act Now To Prevent New Space Junk Around The Moon Say Scientists |website=Forbes |date=February 27, 2022 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/02/27/as-chinese-rocket-strikes-moon-this-week-we-need-to-act-now-to-prevent-new-space-junk-around-the-moon-say-scientists/ |access-date=April 9, 2022 |archive-date=April 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409134704/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/02/27/as-chinese-rocket-strikes-moon-this-week-we-need-to-act-now-to-prevent-new-space-junk-around-the-moon-say-scientists/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Nast 2013"/> As such lunar waste management has been raised as an issue which future lunar missions, particularly on the surface, need to tackle.<ref name="Pino Salmeri Hugo Hume p.">{{cite journal |last1=Pino |first1=Paolo |last2=Salmeri |first2=Antonino |last3=Hugo |first3=Adam |last4=Hume |first4=Shayna |title=Waste Management for Lunar Resources Activities: Toward a Circular Lunar Economy |journal=New Space |publisher=Mary Ann Liebert Inc |date=August 27, 2021 |issn=2168-0256 |doi=10.1089/space.2021.0012 |pages=274–283 |s2cid=233335692 |volume=10 |issue=3}}</ref><ref name="NASA/ADS">{{cite journal |title=1985lbsa.conf..423B Page 423 |journal=Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century |bibcode=1985lbsa.conf..423B |url=https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1985lbsa.conf..423B |language=fi |access-date=May 26, 2022 |last1=Briggs |first1=Randall |last2=Sacco |first2=Albert |year=1985 |page=423 |archive-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526022021/https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1985lbsa.conf..423B |url-status=live}}</ref>

Human remains have been transported to the Moon, including by private companies such as [[Celestis]] and [[Elysium Space]]. Because the Moon has been sacred or significant to many cultures, the practice of [[space burial]]s have attracted criticism from [[indigenous peoples]] leaders. For example, then{{endash}}[[Navajo Nation]] president [[Albert Hale]] criticized NASA for sending the [[cremated]] ashes of scientist [[Eugene Shoemaker]] to the Moon in 1998.<ref name="Magazine Sullivan 2024 a329">{{cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian |last2=Sullivan |first2=Will |title=Navajo Nation President Asks for Delay of Moon Mission Carrying Human Remains |website=Smithsonian Magazine |date=January 5, 2024 |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/navajo-nation-president-asks-for-delay-of-moon-mission-carrying-human-remains-180983543/ |access-date=January 7, 2024 |archive-date=January 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106235545/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/navajo-nation-president-asks-for-delay-of-moon-mission-carrying-human-remains-180983543/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="web.archive.org 2011 c901">{{cite web |title=Celestis Memorial Spaceflights |date=August 8, 2011 |url=http://celestis.com/luna01Flight.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314165835/http://celestis.com/luna01Flight.asp |archive-date=March 14, 2014 |url-status=unfit |access-date=January 7, 2024}}</ref>

Beside the remains of human activity on the Moon, there have been some intended permanent installations like the ''[[Moon Museum]]'' art piece, [[Apollo 11 goodwill messages]], six [[lunar plaque]]s, the ''[[Fallen Astronaut]]'' memorial, and other artifacts.<ref name="Garber 2012">{{cite web |last=Garber |first=Megan |title=The Trash We've Left on the Moon |website=The Atlantic |date=December 19, 2012 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/the-trash-weve-left-on-the-moon/266465/ |access-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-date=April 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409080003/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/the-trash-weve-left-on-the-moon/266465/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Longterm missions continuing to be active are some orbiters such as the 2009-launched [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] surveilling the Moon for future missions, as well as some Landers such as the 2013-launched [[Chang'e 3]] with its Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope still operational.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.space.com/china-change-3-moon-lander-lasts-7-years |author=Andrew Jones |title=China's Chang'e 3 lunar lander still going strong after 7 years on the moon |website=[[Space.com]] |date=September 23, 2020 |access-date=November 16, 2020 |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125043612/https://www.space.com/china-change-3-moon-lander-lasts-7-years |url-status=live}}</ref>
Five retroreflectors have been installed on the Moon since the 1970s and since used for accurate measurements of the physical [[libration]]s through [[Lunar Laser Ranging experiment|laser ranging to the Moon]].

There are [[List of missions to the Moon#Future missions|several missions by different agencies and companies planned]] to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon, with the [[Lunar Gateway]] as the currently most advanced project as part of the [[Artemis program]].

===Astronomy from the Moon===
{{Further|Extraterrestrial sky#The Moon}}
[[File:Earth’s geocorona from the Moon.jpg|thumb|Earth's [[exosphere]] illuminated creating its [[geocorona]], visible in ultraviolet and viewed by the [[Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph]] of [[Apollo 16]] in 1972 from the Moon's surface]]
The Moon has been used as a site for astronomical and [[Earth observation]]s. The Earth appears in the [[Extraterrestrial sky#The Moon|Moon's sky]] with an [[apparent size]] of 1° 48{{prime}} to 2°,<ref name="Gorkavyi Krotkov Marshak 2023 pp. 1527–1537">{{cite journal |last1=Gorkavyi |first1=Nick |last2=Krotkov |first2=Nickolay |last3=Marshak |first3=Alexander |title=Earth observations from the Moon's surface: dependence on lunar libration |journal=Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |publisher=Copernicus GmbH |volume=16 |issue=6 |date=March 24, 2023 |issn=1867-8548 |doi=10.5194/amt-16-1527-2023 |pages=1527–1537 |bibcode=2023AMT....16.1527G |s2cid=257753776 |doi-access=free}}</ref> three to four times the size of the Moon or Sun in Earth's sky, or about the apparent width of two little fingers at an arm's length away. Observations from the Moon started as early as 1966 with the [[Timeline of first images of Earth from space|first images of Earth]] from the Moon, taken by [[Lunar Orbiter 1]]. Of particular cultural significance is the 1968 photograph called ''[[Earthrise]]'', taken by [[Bill Anders]] of [[Apollo 8]] in 1968. In April 1972 the [[Apollo 16]] mission set up the first dedicated telescope,<ref name="w422">{{cite web |last=Betz |first=Eric |title=The History and Future of Telescopes on the Moon |website=Astronomy Magazine |date=2020-06-03 |url=https://www.astronomy.com/observing/the-history-and-future-of-telescopes-on-the-moon/ |access-date=2024-10-22}}</ref><ref name="x909">{{cite web |title=Remembering the First Moon-Based Telescope |website=NASA |date=2019-07-15 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/remembering-the-first-moon-based-telescope/ |access-date=2024-10-22}}</ref> the [[Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph]], recording various astronomical photos and spectra.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_16/experiments/f_ultra/ |title=Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph |publisher=Lpi.usra.edu |access-date=October 3, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203010615/http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_16/experiments/f_ultra/ |archive-date=December 3, 2013}}</ref>

The Moon is recognized as an excellent site for telescopes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Takahashi |first=Yuki |title=Mission Design for Setting up an Optical Telescope on the Moon |publisher=[[California Institute of Technology]] |date=September 1999 |url=http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~yukimoon/MoonTelescope/ |access-date=March 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106142659/http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~yukimoon/MoonTelescope/ |archive-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref> It is relatively nearby; certain craters near the poles are permanently dark and cold and especially useful for [[infrared telescope]]s; and [[radio telescope]]s on the far side would be shielded from the radio chatter of Earth.<ref>{{cite web |last=Chandler |first=David |title=MIT to lead development of new telescopes on moon |work=MIT News |date=February 15, 2008 |url=http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/moonscope-0215.html |access-date=March 27, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304062601/http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/moonscope-0215.html |archive-date=March 4, 2009}}</ref> The [[lunar soil]], although it poses a problem for any moving parts of [[telescope]]s, can be mixed with [[carbon nanotube]]s and [[Epoxy|epoxies]] and employed in the construction of mirrors up to 50 meters in diameter.<ref>{{cite web |last=Naeye |first=Robert |title=NASA Scientists Pioneer Method for Making Giant Lunar Telescopes |publisher=[[Goddard Space Flight Center]] |date=April 6, 2008 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2008/lunar_telescopes.html |access-date=March 27, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222142443/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2008/lunar_telescopes.html |archive-date=December 22, 2010}}</ref> A lunar [[zenith telescope]] can be made cheaply with an [[ionic liquid]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Bell |first=Trudy |title=Liquid Mirror Telescopes on the Moon |work=Science News |publisher=NASA |date=October 9, 2008 |url=https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/09oct_liquidmirror/ |access-date=March 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110323081215/http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/09oct_liquidmirror/ |archive-date=March 23, 2011}}</ref>

===Living on the Moon===
{{Main|Lunar habitation}}
[[File:Aldrin Looks Back at Tranquility Base - GPN-2000-001102.jpg|thumb|Astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]] in [[Apollo/Skylab spacesuit|life-supporting suit]] looking back at the first [[lunar base|lunar habitat and base]], the [[Lunar Module Eagle|Lunar Module ''Eagle'']] of [[Tranquility Base]], during [[Apollo 11]] (1969), the first crewed [[Moon landing]]]]
The only instances of [[Space habitat (facility)#Extraterrestrial surface habitat|humans living on the Moon]] have taken place in an [[Apollo Lunar Module]] for several days at a time (for example, during the [[Apollo 17]] mission).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/saturn_apollo/documents/apollo17_overview.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060930204141/http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/saturn_apollo/documents/apollo17_overview.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 30, 2006 |title=Mission Report: Apollo 17 – The Most Productive Lunar Expedition |publisher=NASA |access-date=February 10, 2021}}</ref> One challenge to astronauts during their stay on the surface is that [[lunar dust]] sticks to their suits and is carried into their quarters. Astronauts could taste and smell the dust, which smells like gunpowder and was called the "Apollo aroma".<ref name="Aroma" /> This fine lunar dust can [[Lunar dust#Harmful effects of lunar dust|cause health issues]].<ref name="Aroma">{{cite web |url=https://www.space.com/moon-dust-problem-lunar-exploration.html |title=Moon Dust Could Be a Problem for Future Lunar Explorers |first=Leonard |last=David |website=[[Space.com]] |date=October 21, 2019 |access-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-date=December 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201103751/https://www.space.com/moon-dust-problem-lunar-exploration.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, at least one plant seed sprouted in an experiment on the [[Change 4#Lunar lander|Chang'e 4 lander]]. It was carried from Earth along with other small life in its ''Lunar Micro Ecosystem''.<ref name="Seeds">{{cite web |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/2182111/chinese-lunar-landers-cotton-seeds-lead-way-plant-life-germinates |title=Chinese lunar lander's cotton seeds spring to life on far side of the moon |last1=Zheng |first1=William |date=January 15, 2019 |website=South China Morning Post |access-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-date=January 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116174611/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/2182111/chinese-lunar-landers-cotton-seeds-lead-way-plant-life-germinates |url-status=live}}</ref>