The Moon

Some nights, I am just a sliver of a smile, a bright crescent hanging among the stars. Other nights, I am a great, glowing pearl, lighting up the whole world below. I watch over everything—the quiet forests where owls hunt, the big oceans that pull toward me, and the cozy houses where children are fast asleep in their beds. For billions of years, I have been Earth’s silent, steady partner, a silver lantern in the darkness. I have seen empires rise and fall, heard stories whispered about the face people see in my craters, and watched as campfires flickered like tiny, new stars. I drift through the velvet blackness of space, keeping my friend, the Earth, company on its long journey around the sun. I am the Moon.

My beginning was not quiet at all. It was loud, fiery, and messy. Billions of years ago, when the Earth was still a young, hot ball of molten rock, another giant object about the size of Mars came hurtling through space and crashed right into it. The impact was bigger than any explosion you could ever imagine. A massive cloud of dust and fiery rock was thrown out into space, forming a ring around the Earth. Slowly, over a very long time, gravity pulled all of those swirling pieces together. They clumped and cooled, spinning into a ball. That ball was me. For thousands and thousands of years, people on Earth looked up at me with wonder. They didn't know how I was made, but they used my light to travel and hunt at night. They told stories about me, sang songs to me, and dreamed of one day visiting.

Then, in the 20th century, that dream started to feel real. Two powerful countries, the United States and the Soviet Union, were in a great “Space Race,” both trying to be the first to reach me. It was a time of incredible invention and bravery. Finally, on a special day, July 20th, 1969, I felt a gentle bump. A strange, spidery machine called the Eagle had landed softly on my dusty surface. I held my breath. A hatch opened, and a figure in a puffy white suit carefully climbed down a ladder. It was an astronaut named Neil Armstrong. As his boot touched my ground for the very first time, he said words that echoed across the Earth: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Soon, his partner, Buzz Aldrin, joined him. They bounced in my low gravity, which they found very fun. They were my first visitors, and they were very polite guests. They collected samples of my rocks and soil to study back on Earth, and before they left, they planted their country's flag, a symbol of their amazing journey.

Since that first visit, more brave astronauts have come to explore my surface, each one leaving their footprints in my dust. The rocks they carried home have taught scientists so much about my age and how the solar system was formed. Now, I watch as people on Earth prepare for new adventures. A program called Artemis is getting ready to send new explorers, and this time, they plan to bring the first woman to walk on my surface. I am waiting with excitement. Looking back, I see that I have always been more than just a rock in the sky. I am a beacon for dreamers, a challenge for the brave, and a reminder that when people work together with curiosity and courage, there is nothing they cannot achieve. I will keep shining, lighting the way for the next giant leap.