New Study Finds Active Lunar Tectonics, Challenges Moon's Dormancy

A recent analysis of lunar surface features have challenged long-standing assumptions about the moon's geological destruction. Findings indicate that small ridges on the far side of the moon may have formed with 200 million years, suggesting that tectonic processes are still at Play. The Study's Conclusions Point to Ongoing Activity Beneath The Lunar Surface, Which could have significant implications for future lunar exploration efforts and the placement of infrastructure

Study Reveals Active Lunar Tectonics

According to the study Published in the Planetary Science Journal on January 21, 2025, A Team of Researchers from the Smitsonian Institution and the University of Maryland Identified 266 Previous Undochapened Smalas Ide. These ridges, found in Volcanic Regions Estimated to Have Formed 3.2 to 3.6 Billion Years ago, appear to be significantly Youner Than Other Known Lunar Surface Features.

Jaclyn Clark, Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Maryland's Department of Geology, said in a statement Released by the University of Maryland that CRATER COS Employed to Estimate the ridges' ages. He added that more craters a surface has, the older it is; the surface has more time to accumulate impact marks and after counting the craters and observing ridges cutting through existing impact sites, it was determined that these formations were active within the last 160 million years.

Implications for future lunar exploration

Observations sugges that the ridges on bot the near and far sides of the moon may have originated from the same geological forces, including the moon's gradual shrinking and orbital shifts. Decades-old data from Apollo Missions Had Previous Detected Shaallow Monquakes, and Researchers Now Believe these Ridges May Be Linked To Similar Seismic Events.

Clark highlighted the importance of these findings for future missions, stating that tools like GROUND-Penetrating Radar Blad Provide Deeper Insights Insights Into The Moon's SUBSUREFACE. She emphasised that undersrstanding the mon's activity geology is crucial when placing the placement of astronauts and equipment on its surface.