What is the temperature on the dark side of the Moon?

Temperatures on the dark side of the moon average around negative 280 degrees Fahrenheit. This is do in part to the moon's lack of an atmosphere; there is no insulation to hold heat (on the far side) or soften the sun's rays (on the sun facing side).

Due to the moon's axial tilt of about 1.54 degrees, there are certain places on it, such as the inside of deep craters, that never see any sunlight. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter measured temperatures of negative 396 degrees Fahrenheit in craters at the southern pole and negative 413 Fahrenheit in a crater at the northern pole. Scientists think water ice may exist in these dark craters.