Earth’s moon is always in the night sky and follows a predictable phase in its orbit. However, its size may have changed over time.a The research was conducted on January 25th. Planetary Science Journal It turns out that over the past hundreds of millions of years, the moon’s circumference has shrunk by more than 150 feet as the moon’s core has gradually cooled.
[Related: The moon is 40 million years older than we thought, according to crystals collected by Apollo astronauts.]
A team of scientists from NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, Arizona State University, and the University of Maryland has found evidence that continued shrinkage has caused some surface changes around the moon’s south pole. The terrain has also changed in the area where NASA plans to land during the manned Artemis III mission.
The moon looks like a grape
This lunar shrinking process is similar to how grapes wrinkle as they turn into raisins. As the moon shrinks, it becomes wrinkled. However, while the skin of a grape is flexible, the surface of the moon is fragile. Brittleness creates faults that push sections of the Earth’s crust up against each other.
The formation of faults caused by this continued contraction is often accompanied by seismic activity, such as lunar earthquakes. Locations near these lunar fault zones pose a threat to human exploration there, just as people living near fault lines on Earth face greater seismic risk. There is a possibility.
inside new researchthe research team linked a series of strong fault lines in the moon’s south pole region. Lunar earthquake recorded by Apollo seismometer over 50 years ago. They used a computer model to simulate the stability of surface slopes here and found that some areas are especially vulnerable to lunar landslides due to seismic activity.
“Our modeling suggests that shallow lunar earthquakes, which can cause strong ground shaking in the Antarctic region, could be generated by slip events on existing faults or the formation of new thrust faults. ,” said study co-author and senior scientist emeritus Thomas R. Watters. National Air and Space Museum, stated in a statement. “When planning the location and stability of a permanent outpost on the Moon, consider the global distribution of young thrusts, their potential for activity, and the potential for new thrusts to emerge from ongoing global contraction. The possibility of formation of an upper fault should be considered.
I tremble for hours
Only shallow lunar earthquakes occur The moon’s crust is about 100 miles deep. They are caused by faults and can be strong enough to damage equipment and man-made structures. Earthquakes often last only a few seconds, or at most a few minutes.shallow Lunar earthquakes can last for several hours, sometimes all afternoon. The research team linked it to a recorded lunar earthquake of magnitude 5. Apollo Passive Seismic Network Recent influences range from a series of faults detected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Probe in the 1970s. This means that this seismic activity could devastate hypothetical settlements on the moon in the future.
[Related: 10 incredible lunar missions that paved the way for Artemis.]
“You can think of the moon’s surface as gravel and dust on dry ground. Over billions of years, the surface has been bombarded by asteroids and comets, and those impacts are constantly producing angular debris. It continues to be released,” said study co-author Nicholas Schumer, a geologist at the University of Maryland. stated in a statement. “As a result, the reworked surface material ranges from micron size to rock size, but is all very loosely integrated. When the sediments are loose, shaking and landslides are much more likely to occur. Masu.”
The researchers hope to continue to plan for this seismic activity on the moon and identify more locations that could be dangerous for human exploration. NASA’s Artemis mission is currently scheduled to begin its first crewed flight in September 2025 and land a man on the moon in September 2026. One of the ultimate goals of these future missions is a long-term human presence on the moon.
“As the launch date for the crewed Artemis mission approaches, it is critical that we keep our astronauts, equipment, and infrastructure as safe as possible,” Schumer said. “This research will help us prepare for what awaits us on the moon, whether it’s engineering structures that can withstand the moon’s seismic activity or protecting people from truly dangerous areas.” It’s about doing things.”
