Powerful Moonquakes , Could Endanger Future , Lunar Missions.
'Newsweek' reports that the moon has slowly been shrinking, causing the surface to shrivel up, triggering massive moonquakes.
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Over the past few million years, the moon has lost about 150 feet in circumference as it cooled.
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Consequently, the surface of our lunar companion has wrinkled up like the skin of a dried fruit.
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The increasing brittleness of the moon's surface has resulted in faults, which could endanger future lunar missions.
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A paper published in 'The Planetary Science Journal' reveals that these faults have been connected with a powerful magnitude five moonquake.
That quake was recorded by seismometers in a 1970s Apollo mission in the moon's south polar region.
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'Newsweek' reports that moonquakes are the result of similar mechanisms that cause earthquakes on Earth.
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However, moonquakes can have a much longer duration than earthquakes, often occurring over several hours.
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Once humans develop lunar settlements, these quakes could cause extensive damage to structures and equipment and could trigger catastrophic landslides.
Once humans develop lunar settlements, these quakes could cause extensive damage to structures and equipment and could trigger catastrophic landslides.
The lunar seismic activity could pose a major problem for future moon missions, as NASA's crewed Artemis III mission is scheduled to land in one of the most at-risk areas.
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The lunar seismic activity could pose a major problem for future moon missions, as NASA's crewed Artemis III mission is scheduled to land in one of the most at-risk areas.
