The Lunar Surface

Explore 9.1 General Properties of the Moon to learn about the Moon’s composition, its origin, and recent discoveries about water deposits near the lunar poles.
The Apollo missions to the moon represent one of humanity’s greatest achievements. Let’s take a deep dive into these missions and what the astronauts encountered as they explored the moon. Throughout this part of our lesson, you can use Google Moon to zoom in on the Apollo landing sites.
The first manned mission to the moon was Apollo 11. You can view the landing site on Google Moon if you know precisely where to look. Watch the Apollo 11 Landing Site video, then find the Apollo 11 landing site for yourself.
The first thing that Neil Armstrong did when he walked out onto the moon was collect a “contingency sample.” This was a small sample of lunar material that was collected and placed in the lunar lander in case the astronauts needed to make an emergency evacuation. You can actually watch Armstrong collect this sample in this historic NASA video, captured by Buzz Aldrin from the top of the lunar module.
Review 9.2 The Lunar Surface for insights into the geological features of the Moon, including its heavily cratered highlands and volcanic plains, as well as ongoing processes shaping its surface.
The Apollo 15 mission landed in close proximity to the “Hadley Rille.” Watch Locating the Apollo 15 Landing Site, which shows how to find the landing site in Google Moon.
As Apollo 15 was descending to the lunar surface, astronauts captured this video, which shows the rille below them. What an unusual site!
So, what is a “rille” and how does it form? The best evidence suggests that these meandering trenches are caused when an underground lava tube collapses. While there are no active lava flows on the moon, there is ample evidence that lava once flowed across the surface. Here is a photo of an astronaut standing next to the Hadley Rille.
One of the primary missions of Apollo 15 was to locate and return a special type of rock called Anorthosite. Watch this historic NASA mission video to see the moment Apollo 15 astronauts first located the rocks on the moon.
One of the most interesting geological discoveries of the Apollo missions happened during Apollo 17, the final manned mission to the moon and the first to send an actual geologist to the surface of the moon - Dr. Harrison Schmitt. Watch this teacher video for help locating the Apollo 17 landing site in Google Moon.
Check out this photo of the Apollo 17 astronauts at Shorty Crater. See if you can find what made the astronauts so excited at this site. Watch this teacher video to see exactly what Dr. Schmitt discovered at the edge of Shorty Crater.