Yes, the Moon has gravity: its average surface gravity is about 1.62 metres per second squared (m/s²), or 16.5% of Earth’s. That is close to one-sixth of Earth’s standard 9.81 m/s².
An object’s mass stays the same on the Moon, but its weight—the gravitational force acting on that mass—falls to about one-sixth of its Earth weight.
Key Moon-gravity facts
- Surface gravitational acceleration: approximately 1.62 m/s²
- Compared with Earth: about 0.165 g, or 16.5%
- Moon mass: approximately 7.3 × 10²² kg
- Mean Moon radius: approximately 1,740 km
- Result for a 60 kg person: mass remains 60 kg; weight falls from about 589 newtons on Earth to about 97 newtons on the Moon
What does 1.62 m/s² mean?
Near the Moon’s surface, a freely falling object’s downward speed increases by about 1.62 metres per second during each second of fall, before accounting for terrain or an initial push.
The value describes acceleration, not a speed and not a mass. With almost no atmosphere, a hammer and feather dropped together fall at the same rate. Apollo 15 commander David Scott demonstrated this on the Moon in 1971.
How is the Moon’s gravity calculated?
Surface gravitational acceleration can be calculated from the body’s mass and radius:
g = GM/R²
where G is the gravitational constant, M is the Moon’s mass and R is its radius.
Using rounded values:
- G = 6.674 × 10⁻¹¹ m³ kg⁻¹ s⁻²
- M = 7.3 × 10²² kg
- R = 1.74 × 10⁶ m
The calculation gives approximately 1.61 m/s²; more precise inputs give the standard rounded value of 1.62 m/s².
The Moon has only about 1.2% of Earth’s mass. Its smaller radius puts a person closer to its centre, which partly offsets the lower mass, but not enough to produce Earth-like surface gravity. The same formula gives every planet’s value in SciQuest’s guide to gravity on other planets and major moons.
How much would you weigh on the Moon?
Weight is force, calculated as:
Weight = mass × gravitational acceleration
| Earth scale reading commonly called “weight” | Approximate Moon equivalent on an Earth-calibrated scale | Mass on both worlds |
|---|---|---|
| 60 kg / 132 lb | 9.9 kg / 21.8 lb | 60 kg |
| 75 kg / 165 lb | 12.4 kg / 27.2 lb | 75 kg |
| 90 kg / 198 lb | 14.9 kg / 32.7 lb | 90 kg |
Calculated as Earth reading × 0.165, NASA’s Moon/Earth surface-gravity ratio.
The “kg equivalent” is familiar scale language. In physics, the person’s true mass remains unchanged, while weight is measured in newtons.
Can you jump six times higher on the Moon?
In an ideal calculation with the same launch speed, jump height is inversely proportional to gravitational acceleration. NASA notes that you could jump about six times as high as on Earth.
Apollo astronauts did not move like unencumbered athletes. A 2024 review in Frontiers in Neurology notes that their suits limited movement at the leg joints and that the life-support backpack shifted their centre of mass. Mission reports show the crews used several gaits, including skipping and loping, not only the famous “bunny hop.”
Does the Moon have enough gravity to hold an atmosphere?
The Moon has an extremely thin exosphere, not a dense atmosphere like Earth’s. Low gravity makes it easier for gas particles to escape, especially when they are heated by sunlight or struck by the solar wind. The Moon’s escape velocity is 2.38 km/s, compared with 11.19 km/s for Earth.
Gravity is not the only factor. Temperature, molecular mass, magnetic environment and replenishment from the surface also affect whether a world retains gas.
Is gravity identical everywhere on the Moon?
No. The 1.62 m/s² value is an average. Gravity changes slightly with altitude, local topography and the distribution of mass beneath the surface. Because the Moon rotates only about once every 27 days, the spin-related difference between equator and poles that affects Earth is negligible there.
Dense regions called mass concentrations, or mascons, lie beneath several large impact basins. A team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory discovered them in 1968. In 2012, NASA’s twin GRAIL spacecraft mapped the Moon’s gravity field in detail by measuring tiny changes in the distance between the two probes, producing what NASA calls the highest-resolution gravity map of any celestial body.
How does Moon gravity compare with other worlds?
| World | Mean surface gravity (m/s²) | Compared with Earth (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Moon | 1.62 | 0.165 |
| Mercury | 3.70 | 0.378 |
| Mars | 3.73 | 0.380 |
| Earth | 9.82 | 1.000 |
Source: NASA NSSDCA fact sheets, mean surface gravity (GM/R² using mean radius). Earth’s mean value by this method is 9.82 m/s²; the 9.81 m/s² used above is the conventional standard gravity (9.80665 m/s²), rounded. Some sources list Mars at 3.71 m/s², which is its value at the equatorial radius.
Mercury and Mars are almost equal: Mars has about twice Mercury’s mass but a larger radius, and the two effects nearly cancel. Mars gravity is still more than twice the Moon’s. Gas giants do not have solid surfaces, so their quoted “surface gravity,” such as Jupiter’s gravity or Saturn’s gravity, is defined at a reference pressure level of 1 bar and should not be mixed uncritically with the gravity of rocky surfaces.
How does the Moon’s gravity affect Earth?
The difference in the Moon’s gravitational pull across Earth produces much of the tidal force that raises ocean tides. The Sun also contributes to tides.
Tidal interaction transfers angular momentum: Earth’s rotation gradually slows, while the Moon recedes by about 3.8 centimetres per year. That rate is measured by lunar laser ranging, which times laser pulses bounced off reflectors left on the Moon.
The short answer
Moon gravity is 1.62 m/s²—about one-sixth of Earth’s. You would keep the same mass but experience about 16.5% of your Earth weight, allowing higher jumps while still pulling every dropped object back to the surface.
Related reading
- Gravity on other planets: surface gravity of planets and major moons
- What are moonquakes, and what causes them?
- How big is the Moon compared with other moons?
Update note: This article was substantially revised and recalculated on August 23, 2026, to correct the comparison table and distinguish mass, weight and acceleration. On October 12, 2026, it was updated to correct the Mars and Mercury comparison values to NASA’s current mean figures, order the table, explain why Moon gravity varies (replacing an inaccurate reference to latitude), add escape velocity, the measured 3.8 cm/yr recession rate and sourced detail on Apollo movement, and add links to related gravity pages. It was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed below.
Sources
- NASA NSSDCA, Moon Fact Sheet
- NASA NSSDCA, Planetary Fact Sheet, with the Mercury, Mars and Earth fact sheets
- NASA Glenn Research Center, Moon
- NASA Science, Moon Facts
- NASA Science, Top Moon Questions
- NASA NSSDCA, Apollo 15 Hammer-Feather Drop
- NASA History, 50 Years Ago: Apollo 15 on the Moon at Hadley-Apennine
- NASA Science, GRAIL (Ebb and Flow)
- NASA JPL, NASA’s GRAIL Mission Solves Mystery of Moon’s Surface Gravity
- NASA JPL, The Apollo Experiment That Keeps on Giving (lunar laser ranging)
- Green et al., Editorial: Human movement in simulated hypogravity, Frontiers in Neurology, 2024
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If the gravitational pull of the earth is 6 times greater than the gravitational pull of the moon and the gravitational pull of the moon can effect the shape of earth and the tides why doesn’t the moon get pulled closer to the earth