Bizarre Facts About The Moon That May Have Something To Do With Why We Haven't Gone Back

When astronauts first shot up to the moon in 1969, they thought the mission would lead to their demise. With such little known about Earth's orbiting satellite, they were afraid that the ground itself would swallow them whole. Upon landing, they found it wasn't nearly as dangerous as they thought, at least for their short visit.

The moon's ground is solid, and after studying samples from the satellite, scientists discovered that the moon has a "crust, mantle, and core—just like Earth." So astronauts found that they could stargaze and navigate the moon without breaking through the surface or spinning out of control from the lack of gravity. Although these similarities stirred up scientists' curiosity, further analysis would leave them disappointed.

Although the moon has been proven to be genetically similar to our planet in many ways, the lack of iron and other significant elements leaves no atmospheric gas or water. That's a part of why the moon is so barren. Only particles of dust float around. Aside from that, there is no life on the moon.

During NASA's Apollo missions in the '70s, no living organisms were ever found to inhabit the moon. It's possible that could be due to the lack of breathable oxygen and fertile land from water, which is why astronauts have to wear their tightly sealed space suits to survive. Aside from those factors, there's another reason why life on the moon may be impossible.

Every living creature has its temperature and climate preferences. We human beings can handle a variety, but we do have our limits. The moon far exceeds the limits of any known living creature. This is mainly due to something else that the moon doesn't have.

The atmosphere around Earth protects it from burning solar rays and the freezing cold of space, but since the moon lacks this layer, there's nothing to shield these outside forces. Temperatures typically range from -298 degrees Fahrenheit at night, to 224 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. That's not the best environment for any traveler.

Another danger that comes with traversing the moon also happens to be another similarity to planet Earth. As quiet as the moon can be compared to Earth, this celestial body isn't completely still. With a similar form of layered crust, mantle, and core, the moon has a tendency to shake up.

While we're shaken up a bit by our planet's Earthquakes, moonquakes are on another level. Without water to soften the impact of these quakes, the devastation can be much stronger and last up to three times longer. Moonquakes were in fact studied after the Apollo missions, and what they found was intense.

The Apollo Space Program placed seismometers to measure the magnitude of the quakes. After the research was retired in the late '70s, they had counted a massive total of 28 moonquakes of varying magnitudes throughout the decade. This just adds to the danger that is the moon, but unfortunately, there are far more natural catastrophes to look out for.

Everyone knows that the moon is covered in craters, and while the playful idea of it being compared to cheese is always nice, it's better to understand what that's really about. It's actually very simple — the moon is vulnerable to constant asteroid collisions.

We'd hate to sound like a broken record, but the lack of a protective atmosphere really does make a difference. Chances are that the Earth has the same amount of asteroid collisions as the moon, but you'd never know because our atmosphere shields us from them. More than that, the constant changes on Earth's surface also cover up most evidence.

Even when an asteroid or a meteorite makes a landing close to home, there won't be any remains or craters left behind. Geologic activity like weather and volcano eruptions erode signs of impact, but since the moon has none of this, all the evidence is left on its crater-covered face. Though astronauts have been able to evade these hazardous showers, there's one peril that can't be avoided or ignored on the moon.

Even if a great meteor or asteroid was avoided, astronauts still had to worry about micrometeorites and solar wind irradiation. These relentless conditions would break up a deep enough layer of the moon's ground. It wasn't just gray dust and rock fragments; it could also contain pieces of volcanic glass. The aggressive pressure of these conditions was a lot to bear, to the point that even equipment would suffer.

The hail of micrometeorites broke up rocks and melted patches of ground, creating small glass fragments that would go just about everywhere. It invaded nooks and crannies of the lunar module, the spacesuits of the astronauts, and even went through the seals of the sample collection boxes. The material also had a "static cling" that made it a challenge to remove.

While many assume the moon is exempt from the piles of trash that accumulate on Earth, this is actually not the case. While most of the debris is comprised of “space junk”, there’s a hefty portion that was actually left behind by man. The abandoned objects include backpacks, golf balls, cameras, and rockets. But the most chilling part? The ashes of a dead scientist also lie somewhere on its surface.

The Laser Ranging Retroreflector is a device that uses a set of mirrors to reflect laser pulses from Earth. This device has helped scientists measure the exact distance between Earth and the moon. The reason it's the only surviving piece of technology is that it's really just mirrors, so it doesn't require any power like most other tech.

So, in addition to life not being able to survive on the moon, technology hasn't had much luck either. Scientists are grateful for the Laser Ranging Retroreflector. It's improving their knowledge every day about the moon's orbit and rotation but it has also revealed a concerning reality.

Thanks to the retroreflector, scientists started to notice a great change in distance between the Earth and the Moon, and they calculated that the moon is floating further and further away from us — about 1.5 inches every year. While the rest of us are shocked by this revelation, one man knew it all along.

Nearly 300 years ago, English astronomer Edmond Halley first suspected the Moon was moving. His study of ancient eclipses aroused his suspicions, which were eventually confirmed in the '70s. Apparently, this phenomenon has been happening for longer than we could have guessed.

For billions of years, gravity from Earth has forced the moon away. Simply put, rising tides slowing the Earth's spin have pushed the moon to spin faster and farther away from our planet. Since this means great changes are in store for our planet's future, research hasn't stopped, but travel has, at least for now.

The hope for space travel hasn't died, but the funding, for the most part, has. NASA has hopes to create a live-in space station, but the government support just isn't there. Not the thrilling sci-fi epic you might want to hear, but so long as Capitol Hill has its focus on the ground, it may be some time before we can walk among the stars. Still, there's another celestial body that may be more practical to visit...

Will we put a man on Mars? Well, given our advancing technology and shrinking natural resources on Earth, futurists have proposed colonizing our neighboring planet. We know Earth is the only planet in our solar system capable of sustaining human life, and that's largely because our home has a sufficient amount of water. It's clear when we look at a photo of Mars that the landscape is dry and barren. However, evidence suggests it wasn't always that way.

The terrain on Mars' surface reveals that the planet, at one time, had flowing water! There were several spacecraft sent by NASA to investigate the surface of the Red Planet, and they've sent back photos of long deep grooves that could have only been created by the power of flowing water. Could it still be there?

The rovers NASA sent to Mars over the years were tasked with several different missions while they traversed the rocky terrain, and one of them was keeping an eye out for any signs of life. The presence of water always indicates possible life, and although Mars doesn't have any flowing water, the poles contain some in a specific state.

Patches of frozen water lie at both the north and south poles, and scientists hope these imply that there are other ice blocks around the planet as well. The thin atmosphere prevents the water from thawing, but questions still remain as to whether there are certain times of the year the ice may melt slightly and allow microbes to grow.

We know the current atmosphere of Mars is far too toxic for any substantial elements of life to exist. However, the presence of frozen water at both of the poles means at some point in the past, the environment was suitable enough to sustain the liquid. So, what happened?

Scientists believe the sun played a huge role in the drastic change. Over the last few billion years, the powerful rays of the sun were thought to have stripped hydrogen out of the atmosphere. Over time, the missing hydrogen molecules would drastically deteriorate the environment.

Photos prove the terrain on Mars is far more rugged than Earth's, and much of that actually has to do with the planet's gravitational pull. Because the pull is only 37 percent as strong as Earth's, volcanoes —like the Olympus Mons pictured here — can grow 16 miles high!

And, those incredible distances are the same in the opposite direction. This massive canyon called the Valles Marineris is four miles deep in certain parts! It's not just the depth that's impressive either; NASA reported that the valley's width equals the length of the United States and makes up roughly 20 percent of Mars' diameter!

While we all know Earth has a moon, Mars doubled down on its collection and has two orbiting it. Their names are Deimos and Phobos, and because they have very similar compositions to other asteroids found in the solar system, NASA believes Mars' gravity forced these satellites into their orbits long ago.

However, scientists predict a grim ending for Phobos. Sometime in the next 30 million to 50 million years (a relatively short time when talking about the solar system), the larger moon will either smash into the planet's surface or fall apart completely due to the gravitational tidal force.

Throughout Mars' history (which is a really, really long time), numerous asteroids struck the planet's surface. When the asteroids broke apart into millions of pieces upon impact, most of the debris was pulled back into the Red Planet thanks to its gravitational pull. But, some stragglers managed to escape.

Because Mars' pull isn't as strong as Earth's, some fragments escaped and made their way into the solar system. Most floated away into space's abyss, but some actually landed on Earth, and a handful of lucky people over the years have stumbled across these galactic treasures.

While there has been a slew of movies about trips to Mars, there's never actually been an astronaut who's stepped foot on the planet's surface. NASA's sent land rovers that successfully touched down, but sending a human to the Red Planet poses a lot of problems.

The planet's environment is way too hazardous, and until some major leaps in technology are made, it's best to keep people far away. The average temperature is 50 degrees below zero! And, even if temperatures were ideal, 95 percent of the atmosphere is comprised of carbon dioxide, which would kill an astronaut almost immediately.

NASA has spent years researching Mars, and it seems like there's always something new to learn. When the space organization first sent probes many years ago, the photos taken showed lots of craters. This misled scientists into believing the planet was quite similar to the moon. However, that theory changed in 1971.

In November of that year, a space probe named Mariner 9 captured an enormous dust storm engulfing the planet. Scientists were also able to make out the tips of dormant volcanoes peeking through the top of the storm. This completely changed the way NASA — and the world — viewed the Red Planet.

When scientists discover the presence of methane anywhere in space, it means there's a possibility of biological or geological activity. For years, researchers wondered if Mars contained any substantial level of methane that could potentially produce microscopic lifeforms. Unfortunately, even with all the technology we have today, there's no definite answer.

Oddly enough, methane measurements taken by probes have come back with confusing data, and no one really knows why. When information taken by the Curiosity rover was sent to NASA, there were all sorts of spikes in methane levels around the immediate area. However, scientists have yet to know where the gas originated or the cause for the fluctuations.

Despite the fact some scientists talk about colonizing Mars at some point in the future, it's just an idea that at the present moment only Hollywood can make happen. Hopefully in the future humans will traverse the Red Planet, but as of now we rely on rovers and probes to gather vital information, and NASA's had great success with them.

NASA is the only agency that successfully landed rovers on Mars' surface, and they've done it on several occasions. The first time was in 1976 with Viking 1 and Viking 2, but there was also the Pathfinder-Sojourner in 1996, the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity in 2004, and Curiosity in 2012. These expeditions have captured some mind-boggling sights.