Even being far away, the moon can affect our earth by causing sea tides and eclipses on the sun. According to NASA, the average distance between the Earth and the Moon is about 384,400 km. Actually, the moon does not revolve around the earth considering it as the center. That’s why the distance between it keeps increasing from time to time. Sometimes it is close to our planet and sometimes it is very far away. Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan-3 has an instrument which will measure its distance more accurately.
When the Moon is at or closest to Earth, it is known as perigee. Then it is 363,300 km away. During this time if the moon is in its full moon phase then it is called supermoon. The term is not scientific, but used by observers of astronomical phenomena.
When the Moon is farthest from the Earth, it is called apogee. It is 405,500 km away from our planet. If a solar eclipse occurs during this time, it looks like a ring of fire in the sky. The mission is launched even considering this distance and proximity. The mission to send humans is faster than sending a satellite. NASA has sent eight crewed missions to the Moon to date.
Apollo-11 reached the moon for the first time with humans. Then it took 4 days, 6 hours and 45 minutes to reach the lunar surface. However, there has also been a spacecraft which did not take even half a day to reach the moon. This spacecraft was New Horizons which took only 8 hours 35 minutes to reach the moon. The spacecraft then neither slowed down nor approached the Moon’s orbit but continued on its journey to Pluto.