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Moon

The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth, and is in synchronous rotation with the planet, always showing the same face. It is the brightest object in Earth's sky after the Sun, although its surface is actually dark and only slightly reflective. The Moon is thought to have formed nearly 4.5 billion years ago, not long after the Earth. Its prominence in the sky and its regular cycle of phases have, since ancient times, made the Moon an important cultural influence on language, calendars, art and mythology, and the Moon's gravitational influence produces the ocean tides and the minute lengthening of the day.

Cold War era rivalry between the USA and the USSR spurred a 'Space Race' to be the first to achieve the major goals in space exploration, particularly during the period between 1959 (when the Soviet Union first landed an unmanned craft on the Lunar surface) and 1972 (when the United States made the last of its six manned landings). These hitherto inconceivable advances in human technology naturally coincided with a golden age of science fiction based around the theme of space travel.

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