00:00Under your feet the moon is pulsing. You feel danger with every pore of your body.
00:05The lifeless satellite, or so you thought, stays still for a second,
00:09before knocking you down to the ground with a powerful tremor.
00:13Is it a moonquake?
00:17For years, scientists believed the moon was completely inactive.
00:21But the newest evidence seems to suggest that this idea is totally wrong.
00:26Researchers from the University of Maryland have recently discovered
00:30266 mysterious ridges on the far side of the moon.
00:35And these ridges likely point to recent geological activity.
00:39So, are we really talking moonquakes?
00:42Well, kind of.
00:44The ridges are located in volcanic regions that formed 3.2 to 3.6 billion years ago.
00:50But they appear much younger than expected,
00:53typically found in clusters of 10 to 40.
00:56They're often located in areas where the moon's surface is structurally weaker.
01:01Now, when astronomers speak about recent, don't take their words literally.
01:06They don't mean last year or even decade.
01:09Most models scientists created suggested that the moon's geological activity
01:13ended 2.5 to 3 billion years ago.
01:17But the new information hints at the possibility that these formations
01:21have been active within the last billion years.
01:24Some of the smaller ridges seem to have formed as recently as 200 million years ago.
01:30And that is considered relatively young on the moon's timescale.
01:34It means that the moon may still be experiencing geological changes today.
01:40These discoveries kind of challenge our understanding of the moon's history and evolution.
01:45But how did scientists come to these conclusions anyway?
01:49Researchers from the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution
01:53used crater counting to estimate the age of lunar ridges.
01:58It works like this.
02:00Surfaces with fewer craters are younger.
02:02And the more craters some region has, the older it is.
02:06Plus, the analysis showed that some ridges cut through already existing craters,
02:11meaning they likely formed around 160 million years ago.
02:16In geological terms, this is very recent,
02:19suggesting that these ridge-forming processes may still be happening.
02:24Another cool thing is that the ridges on both the near and far sides of the moon are similar,
02:30which means they may have formed through the same geological processes,
02:34having been shaped by the same forces.
02:38These forces might include the moon's gradual shrinking,
02:42thermal contraction, and shifts in its orbit.
02:45We'll talk about it a bit later.
02:47Another argument supporting the idea of a still active moon
02:51is decades-old data from the Apollo missions.
02:54They had already detected shallow moonquakes with the Apollo Lunar Seismic Experiment,
02:59recording 28 quakes ranging from magnitude 1.5 to 5.
03:05Researchers believe that these ridges may be linked to similar seismic activity.
03:11Now, about that bizarre shrinking of our natural satellite.
03:15Scientists believe the moon formed about 4.5 billion years ago
03:19when a Mars-sized object collided with early Earth.
03:23This catastrophic impact likely sent bunches of superheated material into space.
03:29Eventually, they came together and formed the moon.
03:32In its early years, the moon was just a molten world,
03:35shaking from intense volcanic and seismic activity.
03:40So, the moon used to be a molten mess floating through space.
03:44But when did it actually solidify?
03:47Scientists have finally figured it out.
03:504.43 billion years ago.
03:53This was a huge turning point, not just for the moon, but for Earth too.
03:58After all, the giant impact that formed the moon
04:01might have also been the final blow that made Earth stable enough to support life.
04:06In any case, billions of years passed.
04:09The moon gradually cooled and contracted.
04:12And now, look at this modern-day rocky sphere illuminating our night.
04:16But the moon isn't completely rigid yet.
04:19It still keeps cooling.
04:21And this slow cooling of its core might be one possible reason for the moon's continued activity.
04:27As it cools, the moon's interior contracts, which leads to cracks and shifts in the crust.
04:33One of the clearest signs of this contraction is found in the lunar maria.
04:38See these large, dark patches on the moon?
04:41Those are called maria, areas formed when lava filled ancient asteroid impact craters and then solidified.
04:48Then, over time, the cooling and contracting crust created these wrinkle ridges.
04:54Another factor of the ongoing geological activity
04:57could be the moon's gravitational interactions with Earth.
05:01Such non-stop powerful interactions likely create surface stress and trigger tectonic movements.
05:08It's all good and exciting.
05:10But can this activity on the moon actually affect humans?
05:14In a sense, it can.
05:16The moon has long been seen as a stable place for future bases and resource extraction.
05:22But the discovery of this ongoing geological activity is pretty worrying.
05:27If the surface is still shifting, future settlements, infrastructure, and mining operations could face serious risks.
05:35That's why, at the moment, we need seismometers and ground-penetrating radars to better understand these movements.
05:42It will allow us to assess potential dangers before any long-term missions begin.
05:47By the way, there's another potential problem future lunar missions might have to deal with.
05:53It's moon dust, a.k.a. regolith.
05:57Apollo astronauts quickly learned that this jagged, sticky dust gets everywhere
06:02and can damage suits, equipment, and even health.
06:06A new study from Texas A&M engineers found another problem.
06:10When rockets land or take off, they kick up regolith, which can become a collision hazard,
06:16especially with many spacecraft bringing crews and cargo to the moon.
06:21Lunar regolith comes in all sizes, from tiny dust particles to large rocks.
06:27The main ingredient in moon dust is fine silicate materials about 70 microns in size, like a human hair.
06:35They formed over billions of years as meteors and asteroids smashed into the moon's surface, grinding much of it into powder.
06:44Unlike Earth, the moon has almost no atmosphere.
06:48It's incredibly thin, so there's no wind or water to smooth out the dust.
06:53On top of that, constant exposure to solar wind has given the regolith an electrostatic charge,
06:59making it stick to anything it touches.
07:02Apollo astronauts quickly found this out the hard way.
07:06Moon dust clung to their suits, got trapped inside their landers, and stuck to everything.
07:11Worse, it became a health hazard, causing eye irritation and breathing problems inside their spacecraft.
07:18But at the moment, it seems like a problem for future us.
07:22A much more important issue is finding water to support future missions, and China is going to deal with it.
07:29It's getting ready for a big mission to look for hidden ice on the moon.
07:34As part of the Chang'e 7 mission in 2026, a flying robot will explore deep craters at the moon's south pole, where ice might be trapped.
07:44If they manage to confirm it, this could be a game-changer for future lunar missions.
07:50Astronauts will have a water source and even fuel for space travel.
07:55The mission is a key step in China's plan to land astronauts on the moon within five years.
08:01While signs of water have been found before, like in soil samples from Chang'e 5's probe and observations by NASA and Indian spacecraft,
08:10scientists believe that deep ice deposits are the real key to supporting future missions.
08:16The south pole of the moon has some incredibly deep craters, and experts think ice could be hiding inside them.
08:23The flying robot will try to explore one or more of these craters after landing.
08:29If it does find the ice, it could make long-term moon missions much cheaper and more practical, helping astronauts live and work on the moon.
08:38Some scientists also think that this discovery could offer us some clues about extraterrestrial life.
08:45In any case, whether we find water on the moon and learn to deal with that pesky dust or not, the recent discovery of those young lunar ridges is a game-changer.
08:56If the moon is still geologically active, it means we don't know as much about our closest neighbor as we thought.
09:03What else could the moon be hiding?
09:05Are we really prepared for the idea that this lifeless satellite might actually be more dynamic than we imagined?
09:12Future missions, which might not be as safe as we once believed, will probably show.
09:20That's it for today! So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
09:26Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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