Chandrayaan 3 and the Moon | The Hoot Hour - Ep.8

Catch Newsahoot readers discussing current affairs in our exclusive series!

This week’s Hoot Hour episode was all about Earth’s only natural satellite, the Moon. Our speakers talked about the uniqueness of the Moon, its role in making life possible on Earth, and the importance of Moon missions. 

We thank all our speakers for their time and valuable input to this week’s conversation.

1. Jasneet Kaur (Stepping Stones International) 
2. Ahmar Hussain (Mayoor School Jaipur) 
3. Lavanyaa Agarwal (Rak's Pallikkoodam)

This week’s Hoot Hour topic was ‘Chandrayaan 3 and the Moon’! India will become the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the moon if Chandrayaan 3 proves successful.

Lavanyaa started by mentioning that our Moon is just one-fourth the size of the Earth and is the fifth-largest natural satellite in the solar system. It is dotted with mountains, plains, valleys, craters, etc.

Ahmar shared that the Moon's presence slightly tilts the Earth, which allows it to have different seasons all year round. This tilt prevents extreme temperatures in any one part of the planet.

The Moon’s gravitational pull slows down the Earth’s rotation giving us a 24-hour-long day, says Lavanyaa. If it weren’t for the Moon, one Earth day could be as short as 6 hours. The Moon doesn't have any light of its own and instead reflects the sun's light. Jasneet remarks how moonlight helps us see clearly during nighttime.

Jasneet brings up another interesting point about the 28-day-long cycle of the Moon. As the Moon’s position around the Earth changes, so does the amount of light it gets from the Sun. Some animals respond to the Moon's light differently - some fish reproduce when the moon is almost half, while some corals reproduce during the full moon.

Ahmar tells us how the moon is approximately 4,00,000 km away from Earth. Lavanyaa mentions NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission, which was the first-ever journey of humans to the Moon.

The episode ends with a thought-provoking conversation about the need to look for habitable conditions on other planets. Jasneet reveals how the rising human population has put pressure on Earth’s resources, thus forcing us to look for alternative homes.

Does this mean we should not make efforts to save the Earth? Not really. Lavanyaa believes it's wise to continue our search for life on other planets, for it will ensure the continuity of human life even if we fail to protect our planet.

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