Moon Shows Recent Tectonic Activity
A newly mapped set of lunar ridges may mark young tectonic faults, suggesting that the Moon is still geologically active. This discovery raises questions about potential moonquakes, particularly near future Artemis landing sites where astronaut safety could be affected.
- The new global map, the first of its kind, catalogues "small mare ridges" (SMRs) and was created by scientists at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. The team identified 1,114 new SMR segments, bringing the total known to 2,634. - This tectonic activity is driven by the Moon's interior gradually cooling, which causes the entire Moon to slowly shrink and contract like a raisin. This contraction causes the crust to wrinkle and break, forming thrust faults. - These newly mapped ridges in the lunar maria (dark volcanic plains) are geologically young, with an average age of about 124 million years, and are formed by the same type of faults as the previously known "lobate scarps" found in the lunar highlands. - The mapping was made possible by data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a spacecraft that has been studying the Moon in high detail since 2009. - Seismometers placed by the Apollo missions between 1969 and 1977 provided the first evidence of moonquakes. A recent re-analysis of this decades-old data using modern techniques has uncovered evidence of tens of thousands of previously unrecognized moonquakes. - One of the strongest shallow moonquakes recorded by the Apollo instruments had an epicenter in the south polar region. A young thrust fault has been identified within the de Gerlache Rim 2, which is one of the candidate landing regions for the Artemis III mission. - Future missions plan to deploy new, more advanced seismometers. NASA's upcoming Artemis III mission is expected to carry the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) to the south pole to provide a modern picture of seismic activity.
