2024-02-11 11:17:40
Thanks to sismographes mounted on the lune missions Apollo from NASA, we now know that our natural satellite is also experiencing earthquake Et landslides. Unlike terrestrial earthquakes, lunar earthquakes can last for hours and reach magnitudes capable of damaging any buildings and equipment that may be on its ground.
A new study led by researchers at the Smithsonian Institute in the United States appears to shed light on some causes of lunar earthquakes. The researchers have in fact calculated how lunar circumference was reduced by approximately 45 meters in the last hundreds of millions of years. The contraction is due to gradual cooling of the core lunar which causes the Moon to “shrink” over time. Due to this contraction, geological phenomena appear on the Moon, such as folds and faults, similar to those on Earth. The clash between certain parts of the lunar crust generates earthquakes and landslides of such intensity that they represent a danger for future missions of human exploration of our satellite.
Details of the shrinking Moon study
Although it appears to be a stationary and peaceful object, in reality even the lune presents a certain degree of activity which manifests itself above all in activities of the type seismic. The discovery of what we call lunar earthquakes represents one of the great legacies of the missions Apollo from NASA, thanks to sismographes which were mounted by the astronauts on the lunar surface.
Over the 50 years that seismographs have existed, scientists have recorded several earthquakes, sometimes originating from meteor impacts, sometimes of unknown origin. A possible explanation for the origin of these earthquakes comes from a study published in Journal of Planetary Sciencesby researchers from the Smithsonian Institute in the United States.
Analyze seismograph and probe data Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter At NASA, scientists have developed physical models that link lunar earthquakes to formation of ridges and faults on the surface of our satellite. These latter are in turn due to contraction that the Moon generated by the progressive cooling of its core.
Similar to a smooth grape that dries into raisins, the moon crust “crumples” to form ridges and faults to accommodate its decreasing volume. Researchers have calculated that the Moon has reduced son circumference of approximately 45 meters in certain hundreds of millions of yearsbut keeping its mass unchanged and therefore also the tidal effect that it exerts on the Earth.
The risks for future human colonies on the Moon
By examining the data, scientists linked the formation of a group of faults around the lunar south pole with a great earthquake magnitude 5 of the Richter scale recorded by seismographs. Although by Earth standards the magnitude is not that high, the lunar composition means that the effect of this type of earthquake is amplified. This has profound implications for human exploration missions from the moon. Lunar earthquakes, particularly at the South Pole where NASA’s Artemis missions are planned, could indeed cause serious damage to the buildings and equipment of any human colony. This represents a detail of considerable importance that NASA will have to take into account for future Artemis missions.
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