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The moon has held our imaginations for millennia, yet it is only in modern times that we have visited this body, first with robotic machines and then with astronauts. Exploration of the moon has taught us much about the evolution of the solar system and ourselves. We’ve known for centuries about the effects on tides and biological cycles from a waxing and waning moon. But it took space-age exploration to show us how the moon is connected to human existence on a very fundamental level. By Paul D. Spudis, Lunar and Planetary Institute