THE SHORT ANSWER
Yes! The Moon drifts about 3.8 cm farther away every year, about as fast as your fingernails grow. In a whole lifetime that's only about 3 metres, roughly the height of a basketball hoop, so don't worry.
Big facts, for scale
- At its farthest, the Moon is about 405,500 km away. That gap is so big that all the other planets could fit in it side by side.
- On the Moon you'd weigh about one-sixth of your Earth weight.
- Footprints on the Moon could last millions of years: there's no wind or rain to wipe them away.
- There's no "dark side". The far side gets just as much sunlight; we just never see it, because the Moon always shows us the same face.
- Apollo astronauts said moon dust smells like gunpowder.
Read the comic
TINY HUMAN COMICS #1
The Moon Is Escaping!
A funny, fact-checked comic adventure for ages 5 and up. Read it on any screen or print the PDF.
Get the comic free · FreeFor grown-ups and teachers
Measure 3.8 cm on a ruler, then work out how far the Moon drifts in your lifetime (80 × 3.8 cm). Compare it with something in the classroom.
Sources
- NASA: Moon facts (gravity, the far side)
- NASA NSSDC: Moon fact sheet (distance, 3.8 cm a year)
- NASA NSSDC: Apollo 11 (footprints)
Facts last checked 4 November 2026. Tiny Human's art and voices are made with AI tools; every fact is checked by a person against the sources above.