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The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. It is the largest natural satellite in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet, a quarter the diameter of Earth and 1/81 its mass, and is the second densest satellite after Io. It is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face; the near side is marked with dark volcanic maria among the bright ancient crustal highlands and prominent impact craters. It is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun, although its surface is actually very dark, with a similar reflectance to coal. Its prominence in the sky and its regular cycle of phases have since ancient times made the Moon an important cultural influence on language, the calendar, art and mythology. The Moon's gravitational influence produces the ocean tides and the minute lengthening of the day. The Moon's current orbital distance, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth, causes it to be the same size in the sky as the Sun—allowing the Moon to cover the Sun precisely in total solar eclipses. Template:/box-footer The Fra Mauro formation (or Fra Mauro Highlands) is a lunar geological formation on the near side of the Moon that served as the landing site for the American Apollo 14 mission in 1971. It is named after the 80-kilometer-diameter crater Fra Mauro, located within it. The formation, as well as Fra Mauro crater, take their names from a 15th century Italian monk and mapmaker of the same name. Apollo 13 was originally scheduled to land in the Fra Mauro highlands, but was unable to due to an in-flight technical failure. Fra Mauro is thought to have been formed from ejecta, or debris, from the impact which formed Mare Imbrium. During Apollo 14, the crew members sampled ejecta from Cone crater, a crater in close proximity to the immediate landing site of that mission, which provided insight into the composition of material deep inside the formation. Data from the mission has helped to determine the approximate age of Mare Imbrium, suggesting that it is no more than about 4.25 billion years old. Alan L. Bean, the Lunar Module pilot of Apollo 12, stands next to the Surveyor 3 lander. In the background is the Apollo 12 Lunar Module, "Intrepid". Aerial photo of the Descartes Highlands with features and Apollo 16 mission traverses labeled. ...that Carpenter is a lunar impact crater located in the northern part of the Moon, causing it to appear oval in shape when in fact it's nearly circular? ...that there were three more cancelled Apollo missions planned to land on the Moon after Apollo 17? ...that glass discovered in craters at the Descartes Highlands (pictured to the right), the landing site of Apollo 16 on the Moon, was described as having the appearance of dried mud by mission commander John Young? Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : Lunar fluorescence Assess : Rate articles from Category:Unassessed Moon articles and Category:Unknown-importance Moon articles Expand : De-stub articles from Category:Stub-Class Moon articles Wikinews Space portal May 9: NASA releases first topographical map of Mercury October 31: NASA releases complete image of Pluto's crescent October 9: After Mars, NASA announces water ice on Pluto October 1: NASA announces water on Mars July 17: NASA's New Horizons space probe performs first close planetary flyby of Pluto January 30: Scientists find ancient solar system in Milky Way galaxy January 11: SpaceX launches fifth resupply rocket to International Space Station January 10: Researchers say light signal from space suggests merging black holes December 8: Orion Spacecraft accomplishes first spaceflight test November 13: Philae space probe lands on comet October 30: Launch failure occurs at Virginia spaceport August 23: SpaceX test rocket crashes in Texas Template:/box-header {{Wikipedia:WikiProject Space/Portals}} Template:/box-footer Moon Astronomy Solar System Astronomical objects Spaceflight ▼ Moon ► Moon in art ► Lunisolar calendars ► Lunar deities ► Exploration of the Moon ► Lunar images ► Moon myths ► Lunar observation ► Orbit of the Moon ► Phases of the Moon ► Lunar science ► Selenographers ► Tides ► Moon stubs Featured articles 2 Good articles 2 Featured pictures 2 The following Wikimedia sister projects provide more on this subject: What are portals? List of portals Featured portals