The moon may be tectonically active, and geologists are shaken
A new look at Apollo-era seismic data revealed that the moon's insides might be warmer than scientists thought possible.
When building a remote outpost, it’s usually a good idea to stay away from active fault lines. Yet for people planning human habitation on the moon, it hasn't always been clear whether our tiny natural satellite is a geologically dead world. After all, you need internal heat for tectonic activity, and small rocky worlds like the moon are thought to cool much more rapidly than larger ones like Earth.
But now, fresh analysis of Apollo-era data suggests that the moon is actually more tectonically active than previously presumed.
In a study out today in Nature Geoscience, researchers may have finally pinpointed the epicenters of mysterious moonquakes recorded by Apollo-era seismometers, and the tremors seem to originate from cliff-like features
