Why do moons not fall into the planet they are orbating?

Answer 1

Think of swinging a ball around and around on the end of a string. The ball will stay straight out at the end of the string. The ball stays suspended at the end of the string because the moving ball wants to go straight but it can't because the string is holding it -- keeping it from flying away. The force the string is exerting on the ball is called centripetal force.Moons rotate around their planets just as the ball swings around on the string. The planet's gravity acts as the string, holding the moon from flying off into space.

Answer 2

Moons orbiting a planet are in a stable gravitational equilibrium, where the gravitational force pulling the moon towards the planet is balanced by the centrifugal force pushing the moon outward. This balance allows the moon to maintain its orbit without falling into the planet.