● Planetary Telemetry Station // 05

Weather on Moon

Q: Why does the Moon get both hotter and colder than Earth?

Without an atmosphere or ocean to store heat or circulate air, lunar rocks bake at 120°C in sunlight and radiate heat directly into the cosmic vacuum at night, dropping to -130°C.

Q: Are the Apollo footprints still on the Moon?

Yes. Because there is no wind, water, or weather on the Moon, footprints and rover tracks will endure for millions of years, slowly eroded only by micrometeorite bombardment.

Q: How cold are the Moon's permanently shadowed craters?

Permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles reach -246°C (-410°F), making them among the coldest natural places measured in the entire Solar System.

Earth's companion. Airless, silent, and battered by 300-degree temperature swings.

Orbital Telemetry Live

Moon

-23°C

Diurnal Temperature Swing 🌡️

-23°C Avg

Day Peak: +120°C | Night Low: -130°C

Atmosphere & Pressure 💨

< 10^-15 bar (Nearly pure lunar vacuum)

Virtually none — an ultra-tenuous exosphere containing argon, helium, and neon.

Supersonic Winds & Storms 🌪️

Zero wind. Footprints left by Apollo astronauts will remain unchanged for millions of years.

Electrostatic levitation of razor-sharp lunar dust at the day-night terminator line.

Mission Data Provenance 🛰️

In-Situ Surface Radiometer

Apollo lunar surface experiments (ALSEP) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Diviner infrared radiometer.

Complex things. Made simple.

What would it feel like to experience the weather on Moon?

Because the Moon has no atmosphere, daylight lasts for two Earth weeks of scorching heat (120°C). Then follows two weeks of sub-zero darkness (-130°C). Inside permanently shadowed polar craters, temperatures dip to -246°C.

Distance from Sun / Earth

384,400 km from Earth

Solar Rotation / Day Cycle

708.7 Hours

Primary Atmosphere

Virtually none — an ultra-tenuous exosphere containing argon, helium, and neon

3D Orbital Mesh

Real 3D GLB Model

Frequently Asked Questions About Moon

Verified science answered in plain, accessible language.

Without an atmosphere or ocean to store heat or circulate air, lunar rocks bake at 120°C in sunlight and radiate heat directly into the cosmic vacuum at night, dropping to -130°C.

Yes. Because there is no wind, water, or weather on the Moon, footprints and rover tracks will endure for millions of years, slowly eroded only by micrometeorite bombardment.

Permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles reach -246°C (-410°F), making them among the coldest natural places measured in the entire Solar System.