THEhe first scientific measurements of the distance of the Moon from the Earth date back to the 1960s. In the mission Apollo 11 a mirror was installed which allowed more accurate measurements of the Earth-Moon distance to be obtained. Thanks to these measurements it was possible to demonstrate that the distance between the planet and the satellite is increasing at a rate of 3.8 cm per year. The tides are responsible for this phenomenon.
On the side of the Earth facing the satellite, the gravitational force exerted by the Moon is about 4% greater. The lunar attraction generates bulges in the oceans that are not perfectly aligned with the Moon. The one closest to the Moon attracts it towards the center of the Earth and at the same time moves it a little further in its orbit. The effect is analogous to the thrust a sports car receives when cornering. In this way the satellite moves away from our planet, very gradually. In the future, this process could lead to a gradual increase in day length on Earth.
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