• What are the implications of the discovery of water on the Moon?
The presence of usable quantities of water on the Moon is an important factor in rendering lunar habitation cost-effective, since transporting water (or hydrogen and oxygen) from Earth would be prohibitively expensive.
Water ice could be mined to provide liquid water for drinking and plant propagation, and the water could also be split into hydrogen and oxygen by solar panel-equipped electric power stations or a nuclear generator, providing breathable oxygen as well as the components of rocket fuel.
• Many cultures have stories and myths about the Moon. Can you find one that you like?
MAORI MYTH
Rona was the daughter of the sea god Tangaroa. She was the Tide Controller. One night she was carrying a bucket with stream water back home to her children, when the path became dark. The Moon slipped behind the clouds making it impossible to see anything. As Rona was walking, she hit her foot against a root that was sticking out of the ground. She was so upset that she couldn't see the root, she made some unkind remarks about the Moon.
The Moon heard her remarks and put a curse on the Maori people. The Moon grabbed Rona and her water bucket. Many people today see a woman with a bucket in the Moon. It is said that when Rona upsets her bucket, it rains. This Maori story symbolizes the influence of the Moon on the rain and on the waters of the Earth, and especially on the tides.
In a separate Maori myth, a man named Rona went to the Moon to find his wife. To this day, the two take turns eating each other. This is how the phases of the Moon were explained.
• The Apollo 11 mission was the first to put men on the Moon. What can you find out about the other missions that sent men to the Moon?
The first robot lunar rover to land on the Moon was the Soviet vessel Lunokhod 1 on November 17, 1970 as part of the Lunokhod program. The last man to stand on the Moon was Eugene Cernan, who as part of the mission Apollo 17 walked on the Moon in December 1972. The Moon hasn’t be visited since 1972.
• How has information about the Moon been of use here on Earth?
The information about the Moon help us to know the situation of the Earth in the Universe, the influence of the Moon Phases on humans, ...