Did you know that only twelve people have ever walked on the Moon? That’s not a lot! But in the future, maybe even in your lifetime, we might go back there to learn more about the Moon and space. Would you like to be one of the astronauts exploring the Moon? If so, you’ll need to understand something very important: gravity.
Gravity is the force that keeps us from floating off into space. It pulls everything towards the center of the Earth. This force exists between any objects that have mass. The bigger the object, the stronger its gravitational pull. Isaac Newton, the famous scientist, discovered that the gravitational pull between two objects also depends on how far apart they are. The farther away something is from Earth, the less it feels Earth’s gravity. And as it gets closer to the Moon, it feels the Moon’s gravity more.
To get to the Moon, astronauts need to reach a speed called escape velocity. This speed helps them overcome Earth’s gravity and travel into space. Once they are far enough from Earth, they feel less of its gravitational pull. As they get closer to the Moon, the Moon’s gravity starts pulling them in, allowing them to land safely.
Have you ever seen a shooting star? These are actually meteors, which are pieces of rock from space. When these rocks get too close to Earth, Earth’s gravity pulls them in, creating a bright streak of light in the sky. This shows how gravity works between objects of different sizes and masses.
For astronauts traveling to the Moon, two things affect the pull of gravity: the size of the object and the distance between objects. Larger objects have a stronger gravitational pull, and the closer two objects are, the stronger the pull between them. So, when astronauts travel to the Moon, they need to escape Earth’s gravity and get close enough to the Moon to be pulled in by its gravity.
Remember these facts about gravity when you grow up and maybe even fly a spaceship to the Moon. And if you do, perhaps you could name a crater after me as a thank you!
