Moon's serene facade is hiding a turbulent reality, reveals NASA-funded research

New NASA-funded research has uncovered a surprising reality behind the serene facade of the moon. It turns out that the beautiful celestial object in our night skies is not as calm as it seems! Research suggests that it may actually be hiding some turbulence right at its core, that is causing it to shrink.

Wrinkles on the moon

As per The Guardian, as the moon's core cools down, it is actually shrinking. This is causing its surface to shrivel and form what scientists call thrust faults—basically, giant ripples across its surface.

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These thrust faults aren't just harmless wrinkles; they can actually lead to moonquakes and landslides that last for hours.

In the new research published in the Planetary Science Journal, lead researcher Tom Watters from the Smithsonian Institution explains: "Our modelling suggests that shallow moonquakes capable of producing strong ground shaking in the south polar region are possible from slip events on existing faults or the formation of new thrust faults," he said.

The researchers took a close look at the moon's South Pole, an area believed to have places with water ice hidden in the shadows. This region is super important and is set to be explored by NASA's Artemis III mission in 2026.

Using cameras aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, researchers spotted lots of "relatively small, young thrust faults widely distributed in the lunar crust, and seismic devices left on the moon's surface by astronauts decades ago".

They compared these findings with seismic data and found that they matched.

Why is this significant?

You may be asking why does this even matter. Well, it is not great news for astronauts or robots exploring the moon. These can actually be very dangerous as humans continue to explore Earth's natural satellite.

In a statement published by NASA, Watters said that "The global distribution of young thrust faults, their potential to be active, and the potential to form new thrust faults from ongoing global contraction should be considered when planning the location and stability of permanent outposts on the Moon".

Speaking with CNN, he clarified that he was not trying to "alarm anyone" or "discourage exploration" of the moon. He said taht he just wants to warn future astronauts that the moon is more dynamic than it looks."The moon is not this benign place where nothing is happening," he remarked.

(With inputs from agencies)