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The Moon — sometimes, Luna — was Earth's largest satellite. Its mass and gravitic relationship to Earth meant that it had a profound impact on ocean tides, and thus on Earth's weather, generally. It was the first extra-terrestrial body on which mankind landed — outside of the times the Doctor or other aliens took individuals on special trips — and was the location of any number of colonies and space stations — perhaps most famously the so-called Moonbase itself.
It was sometimes invaded by alien species, such as the Judoon. On other occasions, it was used as a base from which to thwart alien invasions, like those by the Cybermen, Ice Warriors and the Silents. But, unbeknownst to most humans who lived on Earth until the year 2049, it was itself an alien species — the embryonic form of a gigantic, draconian creature. Its hatching caused what astronaut Lundvik described as the worst natural disaster in Earth's history. Tides swelled, consuming whole cites. Then, after the creature hatched, it laid a new egg — a "new moon" — which seemed very like the one that it had replaced. Accordingly, unlike many other moons circling many other worlds, Earth's moon wasn't comprised of rocks or substantial mineral deposits, according to the Twelfth Doctor's understanding of a Mexican geological survey. Nor was it even a singular entity.
That said, the Twelfth Doctor's understanding of the true nature of the moon in 2049 was not apparently known or shared by others throughout the course of Earth's history. Various other accounts were known to exist which appeared to contradict the Time Lord's findings.
History
Early history
According to one account, around 100,000,000 BC, an alien species laid a gigantic egg which began orbiting the Earth. (TV: Kill the Moon)
Another account stated the the Moon originated from outside of the solar system; it was originally the moon of the Cthalctose homeworld around 60,000,000 BC. At that time it housed the Genesis of Cthalctose which was designed to terraform alien worlds (such as, in the future, Earth) into an environment capable of supporting their species. (PROSE: Eternity Weeps)
The Silurians went into hibernation because of the appearance of a "small planet" near Earth, the Silurian home planet at that time, which they believed would devastate their world. The Third Doctor concluded that this referred to the Moon. (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians)
The sudden arrival of the Moon between Earth and Mondas also upset the gravitational equilibrium of Mondas, causing it to escape its orbit and drift through space. (AUDIO: Spare Parts)
However according to another account, the Moon was already in orbit around the Earth circa 450 million BC. Around this time, the Archaeons used caverns beneath the Moon to house vivariums. They seeded the Earth by firing red lightning from this cavern at the Earth, which already had the potential for life, but the lightning caused the "spark" to be engendered, and the vivariums were used to nurture the Earth under controlled conditions. The Archaeons, along with the First Doctor, Susan and Quadrigger Stoyn, were trapped in a stasis field when they tried taking the temporal stasis capacitor from the TARDIS. This account also suggested that only basic primitive life existed on the Earth. The Archaeons at the very least considered the evolution of humans to be an end result of their "experiment". (AUDIO: The Beginning)
After the Millennium War of 150 million BC, one of the few remnants of the Constructors of Destiny was the Midnight Cathedral on the dark side of the Moon. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)
19th century
In 1878, as Queen Victoria watched, three British spacecraft - the Cygnus, the Draco and the Lynx - were launched in secret from rural Scotland. The subsequent expedition to the dark side of the moon resulted in the discovery of a lunar park erected by an unknown alien civilisation for the purpose of hunting. During the expedition's efforts to rescue their missing commander - aided by the Fifth Doctor, Turlough and (secretly) Kamelion - the park was destroyed. Its last surviving inhabitants were the ruthless Vrall, who tricked the humans into bringing them to Earth only to subsequently be destroyed by the Doctor and his companions using weapons salvaged from the park. After Kamelion visited Victoria in disguise as Prince Albert, Victoria was convinced to end the British Imperial Spacefleet due to the potential dangers of space travel, the Doctor having concluded that Victorian mentality was ill-suited for the pressures of space travel at this time. (PROSE: Imperial Moon)
Strax claimed that he had "declared war on the Moon," asserting that it had gone unsuspected long enough to gain "an enormous tactical advantage," and that striking now would catch the "Moonites" off guard, though Jenny Flint claimed there was "no one living there." (TV: The Great Detective)
20th century
Early 20th century
The Dalek flying saucer was hidden on the dark side of the moon in 1941. (TV: Victory of the Daleks)
Circa 1959, a species landed on the Moon and sent a transmission to Earth. They requested a meeting with the humans so they could share technology. The American government intercepted the transmission and started NASA's moon project to meet them. (PROSE: Blue Moon)
In the 1960s, the United States government built a moonbase on the far side of the Moon using alien technology. It was named after former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The moonbase was designed to contain a viable minimum population. In the event of a nuclear war, the plan was for its inhabitants to eventually return to Earth and rebuild human civilisation. It was destroyed by the Sixth Doctor on 23 November 1963. (AUDIO: 1963: The Space Race)
The Apollo 11 landing
- Main article: Apollo 11
According to most historical accounts, humans officially first set foot on the Moon on 20 July 1969. (PROSE: Blue Moon)
Following the Apollo landing
Contradicting this, one account shows three human astronauts landing on the Moon on 20 July 1970, apparently for the first time. They spotted the TARDIS. (COMIC: Moon Landing)
At some point after 1969, the Tenth Doctor intended to take Rose Tyler to the Moon, making her, unofficially, the first human female to set foot there, but this plan went awry. (PROSE: I am a Dalek)
According to one account, Moon landings became routine in a fairly short while. (PROSE: Soldiers from Zolta)
In the 1970s, the newly-regenerated Fourth Doctor intended to bring Harry Sullivan to the Moon, to prove to him that the TARDIS could travel in space. Instead, because of Harry's "messing around with the helmic regulator," they ended up on the Ark, millennia ahead of his intended destination. (TV: The Ark in Space)
Later 20th century
By the late 20th century, the Cybermen had established a base on the Dark Side of the Moon. The base served as the staging area for a fleet poised to invade Earth. It also could fire missiles at approaching craft, such as the Doctor's TARDIS, which briefly materialised in space nearby. (TV: The Invasion)
This base or another still existed in 1985. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen) In 1988, the Cyber-Fleet orbited the Moon and waited for the Cyber-Leader, already on Earth, to acquire the Nemesis so the Fleet could land, conquer Earth and convert the planet into New Mondas. The Nemesis, sent to rendezvous with the Fleet, exploded and destroyed the entire fleet. (TV: Silver Nemesis)
In the 1970s, the Daleks established a base on the Moon and contacted Professor Pillbright. They offered him use of their disintegrator weapon in exchange for his servitude. The Third Doctor went to the Moon and destroyed their base with a neutron bomb. (COMIC: The Disintegrator)
In 1992, the Timewyrm created a replica of Victorian-era Cheldon Bonniface on the Moon to trap the Seventh Doctor. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Revelation)
21st century
2000s
In the 21st century, the Moon was considered neutral ground under Galactic Law. This meant if law-enforcement agents such as the Judoon, who would have broken Galactic Law to conduct their affairs on Earth, had free rein to do so on its satellite.
Accordingly, the Royal Hope Hospital was transported from London to the Moon with an H2O scoop by Judoon searching for a Plasmavore murderer. (TV: Smith and Jones)
In 2008 the Moon nearly collided with the Earth as part of Mr Smith's plan to destroy Earth using Luke Smith, whose natural power of telekinesis a device named MITRE had amplified. Earth's weather was affected worldwide. However, with Mr Smith "reprogrammed" by a computer virus, Mr Smith had Luke return the Moon to its previous orbit. (TV: The Lost Boy)
The following year, in 2009, Earth was relocated to the Medusa Cascade by the Daleks. The Moon remained behind, though somehow maintaining its position until Earth was returned. It then resumed orbiting Earth. (TV: The Stolen Earth / Journey's End)
The Eleventh Doctor first travelled with his newly regenerated TARDIS on the Moon. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)
Human colonisation of the Moon
According to Greta, the first lunar colony was Giant Leap Base. Some time after its construction, Dr Maguire discovered the stasis field and the Archaeon cavern, unfreezing the First Doctor, Susan, Stoyn and the Archaeons from time. The Archaeons considered their seeding of the planet a failure; they discovered their idea of order and formal beauty was disrupted, and felt that life had run "rampant" through their "garden". They attempted to "purge" all life from the planet and on the Moon with their cannon. The humans struck back with missiles which destroyed the cannon and breached the atmosphere of the cavern. The Archaeons were pulled into the vacuum and the First Doctor and Susan left Stoyn behind as they escaped in the TARDIS. (AUDIO: The Beginning)
At some point, a group of scientists established a quantum tunnel linking Base Diana, a secret military base on the moon with part of the Nevada Desert. This base was being used to carry out mind experiments on dangerous criminals. (PROSE: Apollo 23)
By 2010, there was a Moonbase operated by the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. Dr. Shaw was stationed here at the time. (TV: Death of the Doctor)
By 2015, when the Fifth Doctor and Turlough visited it, humans had established Lunar Village One. Here they stopped a pair of Dryrth criminals looking for treasure left on the Moon by their people. (COMIC: The Lunar Strangers)
In 2039 the crew of a Mexican Moonbase, founded to search for minerals, disappeared. By the year 2049, giant vicious red and black spider-like creatures with sharp teeth inhabited the Moon, living in the caves on the surface and killing every innocent astronaut visiting the Moon, and covering moonbases in web. The Twelfth Doctor, Clara Oswald, Courtney Woods and Lundvik discovered these creatures on a mission to find out why the gravity had increased, with Courtney managing to kill one. They were connected to the organism that been growing for millions of years inside the Moon, which hatched soon after. It laid another egg, which replaced the original Moon. (TV: Kill the Moon)
In 2050, the tenth German moon mission took place. (TV: The Waters of Mars)
Some time before the Bowie Base One mission in 2058, the notable space pioneer, Adelaide Brooke, became the second female Briton to land on the Moon. (TV: The Waters of Mars)
Since the 2050s, a Moonbase housed the Gravitron, a machine that regulated Earth's weather. In 2070, Cybermen tried to invade and control it. (TV: The Moonbase) This base was later refurbished as the central T-Mat relay, co-ordinating T-Mat on Earth. A T-Mat link enabled a person to travel from Earth to the Moon in seconds, until a group of Ice Warriors decided to sabotage the relay. (TV: The Seeds of Death)
From the 2160s to the late 2190s, many humans were left on the moon without access to the Earth due to the 22nd century Dalek invasion of Earth. Susan Campbell and, to a lesser extent, her son Alex were a part of several official public functions involving the return of the stranded colonists. (AUDIO: Quinnis)
Later history
In 2367, the Eleventh Doctor implied that there were several species living on the Moon. (TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)
By 2540, it served as a penal colony for dissidents against the war between the Earth Empire and the Draconian Empire. (TV: Frontier in Space)
Luna University was founded by 2643. (PROSE: Continuity Errors)
Circa the 30th century, Earth scientists were digging for resources on the moon as Earth had begun to run out. (PROSE: The Dust of Ages)
In 5123, River Song graduated from Luna University with a degree in archaeology. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)
Destruction
Circa the 53rd century, the Threshold, who had a longstanding base inside the Moon, had established Wormwood, a replica of a late 19th century American frontier town on the surface. They maintained there a superweapon known as the Eye of Disharmony. The Eighth Doctor's companions Izzy Sinclair and Feyde sabotaged the Eye of Disharmony and the resulting feedback destroyed the satellite. (COMIC: Wormwood)
Other moons
In the time of the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire, the Earth had five moons. A penal colony still existed at this time. (TV: The Long Game, Bad Wolf)
Geography
Locations on the (first) Moon were Mare Fecunditatis, Sea of Tranquillity, Sea of Nectar, Sea of Ingenuity and Sea of Crises. (TV: Kill the Moon)
Effects on Earth
Werewolves, such as the Host, were transformed from their human form into their wolf form under moonlight. The Tenth Doctor, through a telescope at Torchwood House, concentrated moonlight into a laser-like beam which killed the Host. This saved Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. (TV: Tooth and Claw)
Gravity of the Moon had connections with tides on Earth. It's increased gravitational pull around 2049 to the flooding of cities. (TV: Kill the Moon)
Behind the scenes
Doctor in a Dash
The lunar surface appears in the online game Doctor In A Dash as the setting of Level 3 where, as with all levels, the Doctor's TARDIS (the player) races against a Dalek flying saucer, a Judoon rocket, and a Slitheen craft to find a Space-Time Manipulator. Satellites act as obstacles to the ships.
Torchwood House website
The Torchwood House website had access to the Torchwood House observatory to look at the Moon's surface, with clickable pieces of information about various locations on the Moon that the cursor could hover over. It said that in 1924, William H. Pickering had reported "dark patches" moving across the Erastothenes Crater. According to the website, this suggested "active life forms". It also said that since 2001, the Tycho Crater had been the source of "unusual signals", which had increased in "recent months". [1]
Footnotes
- ↑ Observatory. Torchwood House website. Retrieved on 25 July 2013.
