Thousands of young faults found on images taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft camera indicate the recent tectonic activity of the Moon, but the extent of these faults was not clear. In addition, seismometers placed by American astronauts in the framework of the Appolon program also recorded minor lunar earthquakes, the source of which was also not known.
However, now the Apollo seismic data analysis has linked some “moonquakes” to recent faults. This indicates that the Moon, like the Earth, is tectonically active.
This is a strong testimony to the importance of the Apollo program, because seismic data collected more than 40 years ago helps confirm that the modern moon is tectonically active. The relationship between the location and time of shallow moonquakes and well-known young faults is further evidence that our satellite is a dynamic world.
-Thomas Watters, senior fellow at the Smithsonian Institution (USA), the lead author of the study
The astronauts of the Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16 missions installed seismometers on the moon — instruments that measured the shaking of the lunar crust. Four seismometers operated from 1969 to 1977 and recorded 28 small shocks. In order to accurately determine the location of vibrations, a mathematical model was developed, and the analysis provided provided the best estimate.
Using revised estimates of moonquake sites, the team found that 8 out of 28 crust tremors occurred within 30 kilometers of faults. This is close enough to associate vibrations with cracks in the crust, since modeling taking into account the size of the faults shows that a strong seismic crust is expected at this distance.
We believe that the eight moonquakes were caused by cracks in the crust caused by the accumulation of stress, when the lunar crust was compressed and stretched by tidal forces. This indicates that the Moon is still tectonically active.
-Thomas Watters
The cause of lunar earthquakes
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