What are some interesting and strange facts about Earth's moon?

You might expect the dwarf planet Pluto to be the coldest place in our solar system because its so far from the Sun with an average temperature of -233 degrees Celsius. However data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter suggest that craters around the moons south pole may actually be the coldest places in our solar system with temperatures of -237 degrees Celsius. For comparison the coldest known temperature on Earth was -89 degrees Celsius at Vostok Station in Antarctica which was recorded in July 1983, while the coldest planet in our solar system is Neptune with an average temperature of -214 degrees Celsius.



Eugene Shoemaker was an American geologist and a founder of planetary science whose childhood dream was to visit the moon. He helped train the Apollo astronauts but unfortunately couldn't become an astronaut himself due to Addisons disease. Eugene Shoemaker was disappointed for the rest of his life about not achieving his childhood dream and died in a car crash in July 1997. Eugene Shoemaker was cremated and his ashes went to the moon aboard the Lunar Prospecter probe, this makes him the first and so far only person to be buried on a celestial body besides Earth.



The lunar surface is covered in a layer of regolith called moon dust formed when meteors hit the moon, heating and pulverizing the rocks. NASA managers worried that spacecraft would sink into the regolith like sand or it would catch fire when exposed to oxygen, fortunately these fears were unfounded. Moon dust still caused problems however since it stuck to the astronauts spacesuits as well as being very abrasive and potentially harmful to breathe in. Most of the Apollo astronauts claimed that moon dust smells like gun powder or wet ashes in a fireplace.



The moon will likely become the first celestial body that humans colonize due to its close proximity to Earth orbiting our planet at a distance of only 240,000 miles. The Apollo astronauts took only three days to get there and modern technology can reduce the travel time even further. The moon is so close compared to other celestial bodies that a rescue mission or an emergency return to Earth would take less take and involve less risk. The best places for a moon base are on the peaks of eternal light ( places where the sun never sets due to the moons small axial tilt) and at the lunar south pole where water ice is found inside deep craters which could be a very useful resource for a manned moon base.