Compare orbits with the distance to the Moon. Understand rockets, payloads and missions in plain language.
GET A FEEL FOR SPACE
How far away is the Moon?
On average, about 384,400 km from Earth’s centre to the Moon’s centre. To compare this with orbital altitude consistently, the axis below starts at Earth’s surface: about 378,000 km remains to the Moon’s centre.
SELECTED REFERENCE
Example low orbit
400 km
From Earth’s surface
COMPARED WITH THE MOON0.11%
The Moon is about 945 times farther away than this altitude.
Distance uses a linear scale: low orbits almost merge with Earth. Icons and the marker are enlarged for visibility. This compares distances, not a trajectory or flight progress.
400 km and 700 km are learning examples, not specific mission altitudes. The Moon’s distance also changes.
Where do these numbers come from?
We use a mean centre-to-centre distance of 384,400 km and a mean Earth radius of 6,371 km. Subtracting the radius gives 378,029 km from Earth’s surface to the Moon’s centre. This is an approximate comparison model, not the distance to the lunar surface or a spacecraft’s flight path.
SPACE ON A HUMAN SCALE
How far is that, really?
Beyond a number of kilometres — a distance you can picture.
Automatic examples use the approximate country of your connection. GPS is not needed. If it is wrong or no local example is available, choose one manually.
A FAMILIAR DISTANCE
New York – Washington, DC
About 330 km
Straight-line distance between city reference points. This is not driving distance.
NOW IMAGINE THAT UPWARD400 km
That is greater than the New York–Washington, DC distance. About 1.2 × the New York–Washington, DC distance.
Both segments use the same scale. We compare a local reference with altitude above Earth’s surface, not the rocket’s route.
Imagine rotating the distance between these places so it points straight up. That helps you picture how high space is.
How is the distance calculated?
An approximation along a sphere of radius 6,371 km, calculated from GeoNames coordinates. Values are rounded to suit the distance. This is an educational comparison, not travel planning.
This is a learning example, not a specific mission altitude.
Space without the jargon
01
Altitude, distance and flight path
Altitude tells you how far above a surface something is. Distance to the Moon tells you how far away a destination is. Flight path length is the distance travelled along a route. These numbers are not interchangeable.
02
Why does a rocket turn sideways?
Orbit is not a place where gravity switches off. A spacecraft needs enough sideways speed to keep falling around Earth instead of falling back to the ground. Reaching a high point alone is not enough.
03
Does the whole rocket reach the destination?
Often it does not. Stages do different jobs, then separate. The first stage can return while an upper stage carries a payload onward. A lunar destination does not mean every rocket part flies to the Moon.
04
What do LEO, SSO, GEO and GTO mean?
LEO means low Earth orbit. SSO is an orbit whose passes occur at a similar local solar time. GEO stays over the same point on Earth’s equator. GTO is a transfer orbit: an intermediate step towards GEO, with altitude changing during the orbit.
05
Why are there sometimes two altitude numbers?
An elliptical orbit has a nearest point, perigee, and a farthest point, apogee. A pair such as 300 × 800 km describes an example orbit’s extremes, not two separate destinations.
06
How should I read altitude on a mission page?
An exact mission value needs a mission-specific source. When Orbivo only has an orbit category, it shows a clearly labeled reference range. Archived flights do not turn that range into a measured achievement.
07
Does twice the distance mean twice the travel time?
No. Propulsion, speed, gravity and the selected trajectory all affect travel time. The distance comparison above cannot predict how long a mission takes.
Sources & further reading
Orbivo explanations based on NASA and ESA materials. Check a mission page for flight-specific data.
orbivo.