Temperatures on the moon are extreme, ranging from boiling heat to freezing cold, depending on where the sun is shining. The moon does not have a significant atmosphere, so it cannot retain heat or insulate the surface.
The moon makes a complete revolution on its axis in about 27 days. A day on one side of the moon lasts about 13.5 days, and for the next 13.5 days it is plunged into darkness. When sunlight hits the moon's surface, temperatures can reach 127 ° C. After sunset, it can drop to minus 173 ° C. Temperature changes over the entire surface of the Moon as it revolves both around the Earth and on its axis.
The lunar axis is tilted by about 1.54 degrees - much less than the earth's axis (23.44 degrees). This means that there are no seasons on the moon like there are on Earth. However, due to the tilt at the lunar poles, there are places that never see daylight.
The Diviner instrument on NASA's LRO probe determined that the temperature in the craters at the moon's south pole is minus 238 ° C and minus 247 ° C in the crater at the north pole. “These temperatures are the lowest we know of anywhere in the solar system, including the surface of Pluto,” said David Page, Principal Investigator for the Diviner Instrument and Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Los Angeles. Since then, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has established a temperature range on Pluto that is within comparable limits - from minus 240 to minus 217 ° C.
Scientists have suspected that water ice may exist in the dark craters of the Moon, which are in constant shadow. In 2010, NASA radar aboard the Indian spacecraft Chandrayan-1 detected water ice in over 40 small craters at the North Pole. According to preliminary estimates, its volume is more than 1.3 trillion pounds.
Insulation layers
Astronauts on the moon were protected from extreme temperatures by their spacesuits. The suits had multiple layers of insulating material covered with a highly reflective outer layer. In addition, they had built-in heaters and cooling systems.
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Core temperature
The moon has an iron-rich core with a radius of about 330 km. The core temperature is believed to be between 1.327 and 1427 ° C. The core heats the inner layer of the molten mantle, but it is not hot enough to warm the surface. Since the Moon is smaller than Earth, the Moon's internal temperatures do not rise that high.
"The temperature in the interior of the Moon is probably lower than that of the Earth, because the Moon is smaller - therefore, its internal pressure is also less," - explained NASA planetary scientist Rene Webber.