How Long Would It Take a Person to Walk Around the Moon?
The Moon isn’t exactly set up for a casual hike, but let’s say you could just get up and start walking. How long would it take to hoof it all the way around? Well, that depends on a few things—like terrain, spacesuit limitations, and how fast you can move when gravity is only a fraction of what you’re used to.
The Basics: Circumference and Walking Speed
The Moon has a circumference of about 10,921 km (6,786 miles). On Earth, the average walking speed is around 5 km/h (3 mph). So, if you could just cruise along at a normal human pace non-stop, no spacesuit, no gravity issues, no need for food or sleep, you’d be able to make it around in about 91 days (a little over three months). That’s assuming you’re some kind of Moon-walking machine that never needs a break.
But let’s be real—that’s not happening.
On the actual Moon, where gravity is just 1/6th of what it is on Earth, walking is way slower. Apollo astronauts had to waddle around in bulky spacesuits, and even at their best, they maxed out at about 2.2 km/h (1.4 mph). If you could somehow keep up that speed the whole time (which you wouldn’t), it would take around 198 days to make it all the way around. But that’s in a perfect scenario—realistically, it would take much longer.
The Real Challenges
1. Brutal Terrain
The Moon isn’t some smooth, welcoming path. It’s full of craters, rocks, and steep inclines that would make every step an effort. Plus, there are no roads—just miles of fine, clingy moon dust that sticks to everything and gets into places you really don’t want it to.
2. Limited Oxygen and Supplies
Even if you had a super high-tech spacesuit with an extended oxygen supply, you’d still need food, water, and a place to sleep. Apollo spacesuits only provided about 8 hours of oxygen, meaning you’d constantly have to stop, refill, and take breaks inside a habitat or rover.
3. Insane Temperatures
The Moon doesn’t have an atmosphere to keep things comfortable. In the sun, it’s a blistering 260°F (127°C), and in the shade, it drops to a ridiculous -280°F (-173°C). Unless you’ve got a top-tier cooling and heating system in your suit, you’re not making it very far.
Realistic Timeframe
Given the need for rest, supply refills, and avoiding temperature extremes, a more practical estimate is a few years rather than months. If you had a solid plan, support stations, and maybe a lunar rover to help out, you might be able to pull it off in 3 to 5 years, assuming everything goes right.
Could We Ever Do It?
If humans set up bases on the Moon, a long-distance trek might actually be possible one day. Future spacesuits, lunar habitats, and supply caches could make an extended Moon hike more manageable—though even then, it’d be a brutal endurance challenge.
But honestly? Instead of hoofing it, we should just build lunar railroads. Imagine high-speed Moon trains linking up research stations and settlements, making it easy to travel across the surface instead of spending years hiking through dust and craters. If humanity is serious about long-term Moon living, a rail system would be way smarter than walking for years just to see what’s on the other side.
For now, though, a Moon walk like this is just a fun thought experiment. But hey, who knows? Maybe someday someone will actually try it. Now that would be one epic Moonwalk.
Cosmic Watchers 
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