 The Moon may have dramatically affected the development of life by moderating the planet 's climate . Paleontological evidence and computer simulations show that Earth 's axial tilt is stabilized by tidal interactions with the Moon . Some theorists think that without this stabilization against the torques applied by the Sun and planets to Earth 's equatorial bulge , the rotational axis might be chaotically unstable , exhibiting chaotic changes over millions of years , as appears to be the case for Mars . 
