Exploration of the Moon

Exploration of the Moon


The moon has been explored more than all celestial bodies put together.Exploration of the moon began 2 years after the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957.This was the first artificial satellite of earth of the earth and the beginning of the space era.

The first lunar probes where launched to pass close to the Moon.

Manned Spacecraft
The US Chose to send manned spacecraft to th

e Moon.Six Apollo spacecrafts landed and their

thumb|300px|right|Apollo putting the Flag of USA.

astronauts explored the area of the landing site.They collected Lunar rock samples and left behind instruments which continued to function for years.

A soft Landing
The later space probes were of two types.Some spacecraft were designed to make a soft landing on the Moon's Surface,such as the soviet Luna 9 and the american surveyor probes.other probes were sent into orbit around the Moon.This opened the way for direct exploration of the Moon.