Moons and the Moon

Objects that move around planets are called satellites. They are smaller than the planets. Moons are natural satellites. (People also launch artificial satellites, which give us weather reports and carry TV signals.)

Moons in our Solar System:

• the Earth has one Moon;
• Mars has two moons;
• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have a large number of moons.

The Moon is the Earth's natural satellite and our nearest neighbour in space. It takes about 27 days to go once around the Earth. It is about 3,84,000 km away and about a quarter of the Earth's width. Unlike the Earth, the Moon has hardly any atmosphere. Its surface has round, bowl-like craters; most were made when asteroids or rocks from space hit the Moon.

India has sent missions to study the Moon. The third, Chandrayaan-3, was launched in July 2023. On 23 August 2023, its Vikram lander, carrying the Pragyan rover, landed gently on the Moon. India became the first country to land near the Moon's south pole, a part of the Moon that had been little explored. 23 August is now celebrated in India as National Space Day.