Gravity on the Moon

Short answer

• Gravity on the Moon averages about 1.62 meters per second squared. NASA's Glenn Research Center gives this average surface value, and states it as 0.165 times Earth's gravity.
• In plain terms, lunar gravity is roughly one sixth of Earth's gravity. A person who weighs 180 pounds on Earth would weigh about 30 pounds on the Moon, using that one sixth approximation.
• Your mass does not change. Mass is the amount of matter in your body. Weight is the force gravity exerts on that mass, so weight falls on the Moon while mass stays the same.
• The Moon pulls more weakly mainly because it has far less mass than Earth. NASA gives the Moon's mass as about 7.3 times 10 to the power of 22 kilograms, roughly 0.01 times Earth's mass. Its smaller radius partly offsets this, because standing on the Moon puts you closer to its center, but not nearly enough to match Earth's pull.
• Lunar gravity is not perfectly uniform. Dense regions buried under lunar basins, called mascons, pull slightly more strongly than their surroundings, and elevation also makes a small difference.
• Objects still fall on the Moon, and they fall at the same rate regardless of mass. With almost no atmosphere to slow light objects down, a hammer and a feather dropped together on the Moon hit the ground together, as Apollo 15 demonstrated in 1971.

Introduction

Ask how strong gravity is on the Moon and you will usually get a short answer: about one sixth of Earth’s gravity. That answer is correct, but it hides a more interesting story. Lunar gravity is not one single tidy number. It is an average over a world whose mass is unevenly spread, whose surface rises and falls by kilometers, and whose pull shapes not only falling objects but also spacecraft orbits and even Earth’s oceans.

This guide gives the measured value, explains why the Moon pulls more weakly than Earth, works through what your weight would be there, and describes how gravity changes from place to place on the lunar surface. It also clears up common misconceptions, such as the idea that the Moon has no gravity at all. A note on the general mechanism of gravity is kept brief on purpose: the companion article on how gravity works covers that mechanism in depth, and this article stays focused on the Moon itself.

How Strong Is Gravity on the Moon?

The headline figure is 1.62 meters per second squared. That unit describes acceleration: near the Moon’s surface, a freely falling object gains about 1.62 meters per second of downward speed during each second of fall, if nothing else pushes or slows it. NASA’s Glenn Research Center states the same average as 5.3 feet per second squared and as 0.165 times Earth’s gravity. All three forms describe the same average value.

Be clear about what kind of number this is. It is an average over the whole lunar surface, rounded for everyday use, not a reading taken at one particular crater or mountain. More precise gravity maps show small departures above and below this average, covered later in this guide. For most comparisons, 1.62 meters per second squared is the right figure, and “about one sixth of Earth’s gravity” is the right everyday summary. Dividing 1.62 by 0.165 gives about 9.8 meters per second squared for Earth, which is why textbooks often pair the two figures as 1.62 and 9.8.

Why Is Gravity on the Moon Weaker Than on Earth?

Surface gravity depends on two things: how much mass a body has, and how far you stand from its center. More mass pulls harder. Greater distance weakens the pull. The Moon loses on the first factor by a wide margin and gains back only part of the difference on the second.

NASA’s Glenn Research Center gives the Moon’s mass as approximately 7.3 times 10 to the power of 22 kilograms, about 0.01 times Earth’s mass. In other words, Earth has roughly one hundred times the Moon’s mass. That alone would make lunar gravity far weaker, if the two bodies were the same size. They are not. The same NASA page gives the Moon’s mean diameter as 3,476 kilometers, about 0.27 times Earth’s diameter. Standing on the Moon, you are much closer to its center than you are to Earth’s center when you stand on Earth, and closeness strengthens gravity. The two effects pull in opposite directions, and the mass difference wins by a large margin. The result is the familiar one sixth figure.

Density plays a supporting role: the Moon is made of less dense material on average than Earth, which helps explain why a body more than one quarter of Earth’s diameter ends up with only about one hundredth of Earth’s mass. Gravity also weakens with distance from the center of mass, so radius matters just as much as mass. If the Moon had Earth’s mass but kept its own small radius, its surface gravity would be stronger than Earth’s, because you would stand closer to all that mass. The Moon’s actual combination, low mass and small radius, lands at about one sixth.

Weight on the Moon Versus Mass

The distinction between weight and mass causes more confusion about lunar gravity than any other single point, so it is worth stating carefully. Mass measures how much matter an object contains. It does not change when you travel. Weight measures the force that gravity exerts on that mass at a particular place. It changes whenever gravity changes.

On the Moon, your mass is exactly what it is on Earth. If your mass is 70 kilograms, it is 70 kilograms on the Moon too. Your weight, however, is the product of mass and local gravity. Using the average lunar value, a 70 kilogram person weighs 70 times 1.62, which is about 113 newtons on the Moon. A newton is the unit of force, and it is the unit that makes the comparison exact. In everyday language, the same person weighs roughly one sixth of their Earth weight.

A worked example makes the everyday version concrete. A person who weighs 180 pounds on Earth weighs about 30 pounds on the Moon, dividing by six. A 60 kilogram person has a lunar weight of about 97 newtons, since 60 times 1.62 equals 97.2. These are illustrations using the rounded average, not measurements at any particular lunar location. Local variations would shift the result slightly, but not the story: you would feel dramatically lighter, yet still have all the same matter in your body.

That has a practical consequence that surprises many readers. Lighter weight does not mean easier movement in every sense. Pushing a heavy object sideways across a flat lunar surface still requires overcoming its inertia, and inertia depends on mass, which has not changed. What changes is how hard the ground pushes back, how quickly things fall, and how much effort lifting takes. Astronauts could lift objects that would be far too heavy on Earth, but starting or stopping a massive object still took real effort.

Does Gravity Change Across the Moon?

Yes, by a small amount, and the reasons matter because they affect real missions. The average figure of 1.62 meters per second squared is only the starting point. Three factors make local gravity vary: elevation, the uneven distribution of mass inside the Moon, and, to a much smaller degree, position relative to Earth.

Elevation works exactly as the mass and distance rule predicts: a high mountain puts you slightly farther from the Moon’s center, so gravity is slightly weaker there, while a deep basin puts you slightly closer, so gravity is slightly stronger. The differences are small, because lunar mountains and basins are tiny compared with the Moon’s radius of about 1,738 kilometers, but they are real and included in detailed gravity maps.

The more interesting factor is the uneven distribution of mass. NASA’s Glenn Research Center notes that the Moon’s mass is not evenly distributed, that mass concentrations called mascons lie beneath many lunar basins, and that the Moon’s center of mass is displaced several kilometers toward Earth. A mascon is a region of extra dense material buried below the surface, and it pulls slightly more strongly than the surrounding crust. NASA’s GRAIL mission page explains that GRAIL’s twin spacecraft pinpointed these mascons, which cannot be seen by ordinary cameras because they lie underground, and that GRAIL scientists linked them to ancient asteroid or comet impacts, when the Moon’s interior was much hotter than it is now.

These variations matter far more to spacecraft than to a person on the surface. An astronaut would not feel the difference between locations without sensitive instruments. A spacecraft in low lunar orbit, however, feels the lumps and dips on every pass, and NASA notes that the non-uniform mass distribution creates orbital stability problems. Some low orbits are unstable over time for this reason, so planners must choose stable orbits or plan regular corrections. GRAIL mapped this field in unprecedented detail: its two spacecraft, Ebb and Flow, flew in tandem, and the changing distance between them over stronger or weaker regions let scientists build the most detailed gravity map of any celestial body to date, according to NASA’s mission page. Position relative to Earth adds a third, tiny effect, far too small for a person on the surface to notice. In short, lunar gravity is about one sixth of Earth’s everywhere on the Moon, with small local variations that matter to orbiters rather than to everyday movement.

Falling on the Moon: The Hammer and the Feather

The most famous demonstration of lunar gravity took place during Apollo 15 in 1971. At the end of the last moonwalk, Commander David Scott held out a geologic hammer and a falcon feather and dropped them at the same time. NASA’s account records the details: the hammer had a mass of 1.32 kilograms, the feather had a mass of 0.03 kilograms, and both were released from a height of approximately 1.6 meters. Within the accuracy of the simultaneous release, both objects underwent the same acceleration and struck the surface simultaneously.

The reason this works on the Moon and not in an ordinary room on Earth is the atmosphere, or rather the Moon’s lack of one. NASA’s Glenn Research Center states that the Moon has no appreciable atmosphere. On Earth, a feather falls slowly because air resistance pushes against its large surface area relative to its small mass. On the Moon, there is essentially no air to get in the way, so the feather and the hammer fall together. Gravity itself treats them identically in both places. The difference is that Earth adds air resistance on top of gravity, while the Moon does not.

This demonstration also answers a question readers often ask: does a heavier object fall faster? Under gravity alone, no. Every object near the Moon’s surface accelerates downward at about 1.62 meters per second squared, regardless of mass. A heavier object experiences a larger gravitational force, but it also has more inertia to overcome, and the two effects cancel exactly. That is why the hammer and the feather, whose masses differ by a factor of more than forty, landed together.

A worked fall time shows how much slower lunar falls feel. An object dropped from 1.6 meters on the Moon, starting from rest, takes about 1.4 seconds to reach the ground: twice 1.6 is 3.2, divided by 1.62 is about 1.98, and the square root is about 1.4 seconds. On Earth, the same drop takes about 0.6 seconds. Lunar falls therefore look unhurried in Apollo footage. Nothing about the footage is slowed down. The Moon’s weaker gravity genuinely gives falling objects more time. There is also no terminal speed on the Moon: with no air, a falling object keeps accelerating all the way down.

What Lunar Gravity Feels Like for Astronauts

Apollo footage gives the most vivid picture of lunar gravity. Astronauts moved in a distinctive loping gait, covering ground in long, easy strides. With only about one sixth of their Earth weight pressing them into the ground, each step carried them farther and kept them airborne longer than the same effort would on Earth. At the same time, their suits were bulky and their mass was unchanged, so changing direction still required effort and care. The result was a style of movement that looked light but was physically demanding in its own way.

Lifting was transformed: an object that would strain a person on Earth could be picked up with relative ease, because holding it against gravity took roughly one sixth as much force. Carrying was different. A heavy sample box still had all its mass, so it still resisted being started, stopped, or turned, and an object that felt light when lifted could still be awkward once moving.

Jumping shows the same split between weight and mass. With the same takeoff effort, a jump on the Moon goes higher and lasts longer than on Earth, because gravity pulls the jumper back down more weakly. In the ideal case, where takeoff speed is the same, jump height scales in inverse proportion to gravity, so it would be roughly six times higher. In practice, bulky suits, limited traction on dusty ground, and the need to land safely kept real jumps modest. The physics sets the ceiling. Human factors set what astronauts actually did.

There is also a longer term question, raised here only in general terms. A body living for months under one sixth gravity experiences far less daily loading on muscles and bones than on Earth. Researchers study how the human body responds to reduced gravity, because that knowledge shapes how future lunar stays are planned, including exercise and work routines. This guide gives no specific medical figures, because the sources opened for it do not support them.

Orbits, Landings, and Why Lunar Gravity Shapes Missions

Lunar gravity does not only affect people standing on the surface. It governs how spacecraft orbit the Moon, how they land, and how they leave again.

First, orbits. A spacecraft stays in orbit by moving fast enough sideways that, as it falls toward the Moon, the curved surface falls away beneath it at the same rate. The speed needed depends on the Moon’s gravity and on the height of the orbit. Because lunar gravity is weaker than Earth’s, orbital speeds around the Moon are lower than comparable speeds around Earth. But the uneven gravity field, with its mascons, complicates the picture. NASA notes that the non-uniform mass distribution creates orbital stability problems, and the practical result is that some low lunar orbits change shape over time unless they are corrected. Planners therefore treat the detailed GRAIL gravity map as essential data.

Second, landings. The Moon has no appreciable atmosphere, so a landing spacecraft cannot use air to slow down. NASA’s Glenn Research Center makes this point directly: the lack of atmosphere means there is no aerodynamic drag on a rocket leaving the surface, but it also means a landing spacecraft cannot use aerodynamic braking and must use rocket propulsion to land. On Earth and Mars, parachutes and heat shields can do part of the work. On the Moon, rockets must do all of it, and the fuel budget for landing is set by lunar gravity and by the speed the spacecraft must cancel. Weaker gravity helps here, because there is less weight to support during descent, but it does not remove the need for precise powered flight.

Third, leaving the Moon. The same logic runs in reverse: weaker gravity makes climbing out easier than leaving Earth. This is one reason the Apollo lunar modules could be relatively small compared with the rockets that launched them from Earth. They only had to climb out of a shallow gravity well, not a deep one.

The Moon’s Gravity Pulls Back on Earth: Tides

So far this guide has described the Moon’s gravity as experienced on the Moon. But it also reaches across space and moves Earth’s oceans. NASA’s tides page calls the Moon the main cause of the surge and retreat of oceans from Earth’s shores.

The mechanism is a difference in pull, not a single pull. The Moon’s gravity tugs on every part of Earth, but it pulls hardest on the side facing the Moon and weakest on the far side. NASA explains that this uneven pull redistributes Earth’s oceans into two bulges, one on the side closest to the Moon and one on the far side. As Earth rotates within this layer of water, coastlines pass through the bulges, and those passages are high tides. Most shorelines experience two high and two low tides per day, and NASA gives one high tide to high tide cycle as a little over 12 hours.

The Sun also plays a role, and the comparison is instructive. NASA’s tides page notes that the Sun has about 27 million times the Moon’s mass and sits about 390 times farther away, and that its tide generating force is a little less than half of the Moon’s. Mass alone does not decide tides. Distance matters even more, because tides depend on how much gravity changes across Earth’s diameter, and that difference fades quickly with distance. The nearby Moon therefore beats the far more massive Sun.

When Earth, Sun, and Moon line up, at new and full Moon, their effects combine into spring tides, with exceptionally high tides where the bulges occur. About a week later, when the Sun and Moon are at right angles as seen from Earth, the Sun’s pull partly cancels the Moon’s, producing the more moderate neap tides. NASA notes that high tides do not line up exactly with the Moon’s position, partly because the Moon orbits in the same direction as Earth rotates, adding about 50 minutes to the cycle, and partly because continents, ocean depth, wind, and storms reshape local tides. The Moon sets the rhythm. Local geography writes the details.

Earth returns the favor. NASA’s tides page notes that Earth has 80 times the Moon’s mass, a differently rounded statement of the same ratio (Glenn rounds the Moon’s mass to 0.01 times Earth’s), and that Earth’s gravity slightly deforms the Moon too. These tides on the Moon are measurable with lasers, and NASA gives the resulting change in the Moon’s surface as about 10 to 15 centimeters. This tidal link also explains one of the Moon’s most familiar features: the Moon completes one orbit of Earth every 27.3 days and, because of tidal forces, completes one revolution on its axis in the same period, so the same side always faces Earth.

Common Misconceptions About Gravity on the Moon

Several misunderstandings come up again and again in reader questions, and each is worth correcting directly.

The first is that the Moon has no gravity. It does. Its gravity is weaker than Earth’s, but it is strong enough to hold the Moon’s shape, pull objects to its surface, keep orbiters in their paths, and raise tides on Earth. A world with no gravity would not do any of those things.

The second is that astronauts float on the Moon. They do not float the way astronauts float inside an orbiting spacecraft. On the lunar surface, astronauts stand, walk, and fall back down after every jump. Floating in orbit is different: spacecraft and occupants fall together around Earth, so there is no floor pushing back. That weightlessness is caused by continuous free fall, not by an absence of gravity.

The third is that you could jump off the Moon into space. You could not, at least not by jumping. Lunar gravity is weaker, but it is still far too strong for a human jump to overcome. A jump that reaches a meter or two on the Moon is still an ordinary jump, not an escape. Leaving the Moon requires a rocket, as the Apollo missions showed.

The fourth is that a heavier object falls faster on the Moon. As the hammer and feather demonstration showed, it does not. Mass changes the force, but it also changes the inertia, and the two cancel. Light and heavy objects fall together when air resistance is out of the picture.

The fifth is that lunar gravity is exactly one sixth of Earth’s gravity everywhere. It is approximately one sixth on average. Local variations from mascons and elevation shift the value slightly from place to place. The one sixth figure is an excellent summary and a poor substitute for a gravity map when precision matters.

How Scientists Measure Lunar Gravity

Readers sometimes wonder how anyone knows the Moon’s gravity to two decimal places without standing on it with a scale. The answer is spacecraft tracking, refined over decades.

The basic method is to watch how a spacecraft moves. A spacecraft in lunar orbit speeds up slightly over stronger gravity and slows slightly over weaker gravity. Tracking those speed changes precisely lets scientists reconstruct the gravity field below. GRAIL sharpened this dramatically by flying two spacecraft in tandem and measuring the changing distance between them. NASA describes GRAIL’s result as the highest resolution gravity map of any celestial body to date. Laser measurements add a second line of evidence: NASA’s tides page describes astronomers bouncing lasers off the lunar surface and off special reflectors left on the Moon, tracking the Moon’s motion and deformation with extreme precision.

Frequently Asked Questions

How strong is gravity on the Moon?

Gravity on the Moon averages about 1.62 meters per second squared, which NASA states as 0.165 times Earth’s gravity, or roughly one sixth. Local values vary slightly, but the average is the figure for general comparisons.

Why is gravity on the Moon weaker than on Earth?

The Moon has far less mass than Earth, about 0.01 times Earth’s mass according to NASA. Its smaller radius partly compensates, but the mass difference dominates, giving surface gravity roughly one sixth as strong as Earth’s.

How much would I weigh on the Moon?

Divide your Earth weight by about six: a person who weighs 180 pounds on Earth would weigh about 30 pounds on the Moon. Your mass stays the same. Only your weight changes.

Does mass change on the Moon?

No. Mass is the amount of matter in an object, and it does not depend on location. A 70 kilogram object has a mass of 70 kilograms on Earth, on the Moon, and in deep space. Only its weight changes, because weight depends on local gravity.

Do objects fall at the same rate on the Moon?

Yes, when air resistance is not involved. On the Moon there is essentially no atmosphere, so a hammer and a feather dropped together fall together, as Apollo 15 demonstrated in 1971. On Earth, air resistance makes light, broad objects fall more slowly, which can make it look as though mass affects falling speed.

Is there gravity in space around the Moon?

Yes. Gravity does not stop at a boundary. The Moon’s gravity extends into space, weakening with distance, and governs spacecraft orbiting the Moon. Astronauts inside an orbiting spacecraft appear weightless not because gravity is absent, but because spacecraft and occupants fall together around the Moon or Earth.

Does the Moon’s gravity cause Earth’s tides?

Yes, the Moon is the main cause of Earth’s tides. Its uneven pull across Earth’s diameter redistributes the oceans into two bulges, and coastlines rotating through those bulges experience high tides. The Sun contributes a smaller effect, a little less than half of the Moon’s according to NASA, and local geography shapes observed tides.

Why does the same side of the Moon always face Earth?

Tidal forces slowed the Moon’s spin until its rotation period matched its orbital period of 27.3 days. NASA’s Glenn Research Center notes that the Moon completes one revolution on its axis in the same time it completes one orbit, so one side always faces Earth.

Can you jump higher on the Moon?

Yes, considerably higher, with the same takeoff effort. In the ideal case, jump height scales inversely with gravity, so a jump could be roughly six times higher on the Moon. In practice, bulky suits and dusty, uneven ground kept Apollo astronauts’ actual jumps modest.

Is gravity the same everywhere on the Moon?

No, not exactly. The average is 1.62 meters per second squared, but mascons and elevation produce small local variations. They are too small for a person to feel, but they matter for spacecraft in low lunar orbit, which is why detailed GRAIL gravity maps are essential for mission planning.

Keep reading: How Does Gravity Work?

Sources & references

• NASA Glenn Research Center, "Moon." Average surface gravitational acceleration 1.62 meters per second squared, stated as 0.165 times Earth gravity; Moon mass approximately 7.3 times 10 to the power of 22 kilograms, about 0.01 times Earth mass; mean diameter 3,476 kilometers, about 0.27 times Earth diameter; mass not evenly distributed, mascons beneath lunar basins, center of mass displaced several kilometers toward Earth, orbital stability problems; no appreciable atmosphere, no aerodynamic braking, rocket propulsion required for landing; orbit and rotation period 27.3 days, same side always facing Earth. Opened and read 29 October 2026.
• NASA Science, "GRAIL (Ebb and Flow)." Twin spacecraft mapped variations in the lunar gravitational field and produced the highest resolution gravity map of any celestial body to date; pinpointed mascons, regions of strong gravitational pull beneath the surface, linked to ancient impacts; mission operated for nine months with the gravity mapping described on the mission page. Opened and read 29 October 2026.
• NASA Science, "The Apollo 15 Hammer-Feather Drop." Commander David Scott dropped a 1.32 kilogram geologic hammer and a 0.03 kilogram falcon feather from approximately 1.6 meters during Apollo 15 in 1971; both underwent the same acceleration and struck the surface simultaneously, because they were essentially in a vacuum with no air resistance. Opened and read 29 October 2026.
• NASA Science, "Tides." The Moon's gravity is the main cause of Earth's tides; uneven pull produces two ocean bulges; most shorelines experience two high and two low tides per day, with a high tide to high tide cycle of a little over 12 hours; Sun mass about 27 million times the Moon's, distance about 390 times farther, tide generating force a little less than half of the Moon's; spring tides at alignment, neap tides at right angles; Earth mass 80 times the Moon's; Earth's gravitational tide changes the Moon's surface by about 10 to 15 centimeters. Opened and read 29 October 2026.