The Moon
20 July 2009 is the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing (the Apollo 11 mission).
The Moon is the closest astronomical object to the Earth. It has a diameter of 3476 km and orbits the Earth in 27.322 days at a mean distance of 384,000 km, always keeping the same face pointed towards the Earth.
Moon facts and features
On the line: podcast stories
GCSE astronomy: the Moon
Shop
This NASA-approved globe accurately depicts the geographical features of the Moon, including craters, 'seas' and mountain ranges.