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NASA has detected unusual changes on the Moon that are raising new questions about what may be happening beneath its surface. If those changes continue, they could eventually affect the delicate gravitational relationship between the Moon and Earth. Scientists are now trying to understand whether this is a harmless natural process — or a sign of something that could put Earth at risk.
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00:00NASA just discovered the Moon isn't dead, and their astronauts are about to land right on top of the evidence.
00:07Wait, dead? What does that even mean for a giant rock in the sky?
00:11Simple. A dead world is one that's completely cooled down inside. Nothing moves anymore. Nothing happens.
00:19Turns out the Moon isn't there yet. There's still heat trapped deep inside it, and a world with leftover heat
00:26is a world with potential.
00:27Maybe even energy that future settlers could one day use.
00:32Here's how we found out. NASA sent spacecraft to circle the Moon and take detailed pictures, basically making better maps
00:40for the upcoming Artemis landings.
00:42Routine stuff. But when scientists looked at those pictures, they froze.
00:47The Moon is moving.
00:49For 50 years, everyone assumed the Moon was a dead rock. Nothing had happened up there since the dinosaurs.
00:55But these new photos tell a different story.
00:59Scientists spotted over 3,500 small cliffs cutting across the surface, like wrinkles, and many of them look fresh.
01:06Some may have formed in the last 50 million years.
01:09It may sound ancient, but for the Moon, that's basically yesterday.
01:14So, what's going on?
01:16The inside of the Moon is still cooling down, and as it cools, it shrinks.
01:21Picture a grape slowly drying into a raisin.
01:24The skin wrinkles and cracks.
01:26Same thing on the Moon.
01:28The surface buckles and snaps, and every snap is a moonquake.
01:32Yes, the Moon has quakes.
01:36Astronauts actually left instruments there in the 1970s that recorded them.
01:40But here's the part nobody saw coming.
01:42Those quakes trace back to real active cracks, and one of them runs straight through the spot where Apollo 17
01:49landed.
01:51Astronauts were standing on a fault line the whole time.
01:54Nobody knew.
01:55And this is where it gets serious.
01:58NASA wanted to land the next astronauts near the Moon's south pole.
02:02Some of these newly discovered cracks sit uncomfortably close to the planned landing spots.
02:07So, future crews could be building bases on ground that shakes, slides, and splits beneath their feet.
02:16Think moonquakes, crumbling slopes, landslides.
02:19Not exactly what safe landing site was supposed to mean.
02:23The funny part is that the maps made to protect these missions are the very thing revealing the danger.
02:29And it's bigger than landing sites.
02:31The Moon keeps Earth steady as it spins and pulls our oceans into tides.
02:35Nothing up there threatens us today.
02:38Yet, the humbling truth is, after 50 years of missions, we still barely know what's happening inside our closest neighbor.
02:4650 years ago, we declared the Moon finished, case closed.
02:50But, turns out, we just weren't looking closely enough.
02:53And as astronauts get ready to walk on it again, one question suddenly matters more than ever.
03:00How alive is the Moon, really?
03:05It's been decades since the last manned moon landing, Apollo 17, which happened in December 1972.
03:14Isn't it time we thought about going back to our dusty satellite?
03:18And maybe even staying there?
03:21NASA has made a promise on this subject.
03:24They're preparing to send astronauts on the Moon again, perhaps by 2025.
03:28This will all happen through a program called Artemis.
03:33It's also going to include the first woman ever to experience the lunar surface.
03:39Now, you might ask, why haven't we done this already?
03:44One former NASA administrator said something interesting on the subject.
03:48It's not because of scientific or technological issues.
03:52Problem was that the potential projects took too long and were just too costly.
04:00You see, space travel, especially when it involves humans, isn't easy on the pockets.
04:06It's true that, in recent years, NASA had budgets of billions of dollars.
04:12Sure sounds like enough money, right?
04:14Well, not when you check out their to-do list.
04:17That's because they have to consider everything.
04:20From telescopes and giant rocket projects, to missions also targeting the Sun, Jupiter, Mars, and beyond.
04:29When you look at it this way, NASA needs to be very good at budgeting to achieve all those goals.
04:36It's not just because of finances, though.
04:39The Moon itself is quite problematic.
04:41It poses real dangers that cannot be taken lightly.
04:45For starters, its surface is filled with craters and boulders that aren't easy to land on.
04:50Then, there is the Moon dust.
04:53Or regolith, if you'd like to call it by its scientific name.
04:57It was created over many years by meteorite impacts.
05:01It's extremely harsh and sticks to everything.
05:04It can potentially damage spacesuits, vehicles, and systems quite quickly.
05:10Also, dealing with the lunar habitat isn't a walk in the park, either.
05:15The Moon has no protective atmosphere.
05:17What this means is that for 14 days at a time, the lunar surface is faced with harsh rays from
05:23the Sun.
05:24That period is followed by another two weeks of total darkness.
05:28All these changes create extreme temperatures, which us humans are not really accustomed to.
05:35There are solutions.
05:37Don't worry.
05:38NASA is working on dust and sun-resistant spacesuits and vehicles.
05:43They're even developing a system that might supply electricity during those lunar nights.
05:49What's even more interesting about this system is it could come in handy on Mars, too, once we get there.
05:56NASA also needs to draw in really smart people for its projects.
06:01Think about it.
06:02The average age of the people working for the mission control for Apollo 13 was just 26 years old.
06:09And these people had already been part of numerous missions by that time.
06:14Which means they'd had considerable experience from a very young age.
06:20But here's where other individuals can help, too.
06:24In recent years, it wasn't just NASA who's been working tirelessly to revolutionize space travel.
06:31There are many successful people out there with enough resources to join in on these efforts.
06:37Some are developing new types of rockets that can land on the Moon, too.
06:42In total, NASA landed 12 people on our satellite.
06:47It's definitely one of the most awesome moments in its history, if not the best.
06:52And those astronauts did amazing things up there.
06:55They brought back rocks, took snapshots, did science experiments, and even left flags behind.
07:03These were all important moments of the Apollo missions.
07:07But they weren't meant to create a safe place for humans on the Moon.
07:13Scientists have had this idea of a lunar space station for a long time now.
07:18It's only logical.
07:20After all, it's just a three-day trip from Earth.
07:23It means we can, technically, afford to make little mistakes here and there, without messing up the whole project.
07:30Plus, we'd learned so much before venturing even further into space.
07:36A Moon base could provide fuel for deep space missions.
07:40We could also build telescopes up there and launch them way easier in space.
07:45It could also help us in another important project.
07:49Figure out how to make Mars habitable, too.
07:52Not to mention, a lunar space station would help us learn more about the Moon's origin.
07:58Who knows?
07:59It could even bring in some money because of all that fun, exciting lunar tourism.
08:05Either way, the Apollo Moon program took a lot of work.
08:10For starters, let's look at the sheer number of people involved.
08:14Around 400,000.
08:16From every corner of the states.
08:19Not everything was picture-perfect.
08:22Tough.
08:23There were two main unfortunate events.
08:25Firstly, a fire mishap at the launch pad of Apollo 1.
08:30Secondly, an oxygen tank decided to throw a tantrum on Apollo 13, causing severe issues mid-mission.
08:39An important part of the project was Saturn V.
08:43It is to this day the most powerful rocket flown successfully, being 36 stories high.
08:50Still finding it hard to picture?
08:53This rocket stood twice as tall as Niagara Falls.
08:58Thanks to Saturn V, NASA successfully completed 13 missions.
09:03This included chauffeuring 24 astronauts towards the Moon, with half of them even having a little walk on its surface.
09:12The existing rockets and space shuttles can't go beyond low Earth orbit.
09:17In simpler terms, they can't reach the Moon with all the gadgets astronauts need to thrive.
09:23Current space vehicles are just not capable of carrying that load, at least not since the Apollo missions happened.
09:30Regardless, we did make a lot of progress on Earth, and are ready to send astronauts to our satellite pretty
09:37soon.
09:38Here's where the Artemis project comes in.
09:41It's a program overseen by NASA.
09:44And to make sure it all goes well, NASA previously launched Orion, a spacecraft with no crew on board to
09:52orbit the Moon and return to Earth.
09:55Think of it as an automated test drive.
09:57Before we actually send people out there again, we need to make sure all the devices work properly.
10:05One day, Orion will be the vehicle that will take astronauts to the Moon again.
10:10It features a launch abort system to keep astronauts safe in case something bad happens during launch.
10:17It also has a service module, which is the powerhouse that fuels and propels Orion and keeps astronauts alive with
10:25water, oxygen, power, and temperature control.
10:29All these future projects make one wonder.
10:33What will life on the Moon be like anyway?
10:35We can only use our imagination for now.
10:38Some say we'll be living in homes straight out of a fairy tale.
10:42Something like a cozy hobbit hole.
10:45Living underground on the Moon might be a must.
10:48That's due to the scorching temperatures and the lack of oxygen.
10:52If you add meteorite threats and the non-stop radiation, it's no wonder we can't just walk on its surface.
11:01What about transportation?
11:03Big and small companies alike are trying to create the ideal Moon ride.
11:07If current estimations are current, one type of Moon taxi will take off as soon as 2024.
11:15Unlike our current rockets, these space taxis won't have to deal with the harsh conditions of re-entering Earth's atmosphere.
11:22It will be easier for them to make multiple round trips.
11:26To support our lunar living, we'll need to have a special area for space taxis to safely take off and
11:33land.
11:33Think of it as a landing pad on a firm, flat stretch of Moon surface, protected by walls to shield
11:40against Moon dust.
11:45Moving around on the Moon surface will be made easier too.
11:49The next generation vehicles we're talking about will have their own controlled environment.
11:54Which means you won't need a spacesuit while inside.
11:58Should feel like stepping out of your space ride for a bit.
12:01Then of course, you'll need to put on your spacesuit.
12:05Alright.
12:06So we've got our homes and our rides sorted.
12:09But what about fuel?
12:11That's where the Moon throws us a lifeline.
12:13The Moon's lighter gravity means we don't need as much power to escape its pull.
12:19Plus, the Moon has ice.
12:21And that's super handy.
12:23We might be able to convert this ice into rocket fuel.
12:26We'll need dedicated space gadgets to help gather this ice.
12:30One such tool is called Trident.
12:33It's like a drill, perfect for digging into the icy Moon surface.
12:38Additional robotic helpers would then turn this ice into fuel and deliver it to a space gas station.
12:44If this works, rockets on their way to Mars could stop by for a quick fuel top-up before continuing
12:50their journey.
12:54Scientists have just uncovered a lunar crater so large, so fresh, and so unexpectedly dangerous that it's forcing a complete
13:03rewrite of what we thought we knew about the Moon.
13:06If something like this can form without warning, then every plan for a permanent base suddenly looks fragile, maybe even
13:14naive.
13:15So now the question isn't how we build on the Moon, but whether we ever safely can.
13:22This isn't about falling into it or toxic leaks.
13:26The threat is what this crater proves.
13:28The Moon is still actively being hit.
13:31And when it happens, it's sudden and unforgiving.
13:35A recent study shows that while the odds of a direct strike on a future base are low, that risk
13:40grows with every structure we put on the surface.
13:43More infrastructure means more exposure.
13:48And there's no safety net, no atmosphere to slow incoming objects, no warning system.
13:53An impact would be immediate and likely catastrophic.
13:57So why does this crater stand out?
14:00Because it shouldn't exist, at least not yet, it's about 740 feet wide and 140 feet deep.
14:08According to existing models, an impact of this scale should happen roughly once every 139 years.
14:15But this one is recent, which means either we got extremely lucky or the models are wrong.
14:22And if the models are wrong, then the risk has been underestimated all along.
14:27The structure of the crater adds to the concern.
14:31Its steep walls suggest it formed in dense, solid ground.
14:35Likely ancient lava flows.
14:37But the real danger isn't only the crater itself.
14:41It's also what the impact unleashed.
14:44A wide ejecta field surrounds it.
14:47Dust and rock blast it outward at high speed.
14:50These fragments can travel hundreds of feet, hitting with enough force to damage or destroy anything in their path.
14:58Not just at the impact site, but far beyond it.
15:02This changes the equation.
15:04The danger isn't just rare direct hits.
15:07It's the cascading effect.
15:09High-velocity debris spreading across large areas with no warning.
15:13And yet, lunar missions are accelerating.
15:17NASA's Artemis program is pushing toward long-term human presence on the Moon.
15:22New habitation modules are being designed to support crews, experiments, and surface operations.
15:29But all of it depends on a single assumption.
15:32That the Moon is predictable.
15:35This crater suggests it isn't.
15:37And all this comes right as NASA has launched Artemis 2, sending astronauts around the Moon for the first time
15:45in 50 years.
15:46And pushing one step closer to a long-term human presence there.
15:53You might think high-tech telescopes let us see every inch of the Moon, but that's not true.
15:58At our satellite's south pole lie giant craters untouched by sunlight for eons, stuck in pitch black, colder than Pluto,
16:07and almost impossible to explore.
16:11However, maybe we have to if we want to explore space.
16:14Because the darkness hides some must-have resources that will make life and long-distance travel in space possible.
16:22Yes, we're talking about water locked up as tiny crystals in the lunar soil.
16:28Now, water in space is always good news.
16:31You've probably heard that scientists are also obsessed with finding it on Mars.
16:36If the red planet has any type of water below its surface, it raises the exciting possibility that life might
16:43have existed there.
16:44Even microbes would be the biggest discovery in human history.
16:48That's why rovers are poking around Martian craters and drilling into the soil like some very dedicated space gardeners.
16:56But as incredible as water on Mars would be, water on the Moon might be even more valuable to us
17:03in the short term.
17:04The reasons are simple.
17:05The distance and the gravity of the Moon.
17:08We can reach our satellite in three days.
17:10That's almost nothing.
17:12It takes at least seven days to reach New York from London via a cruise ship.
17:16But more important than the length of the trip is the possibility of using the Moon as a pit stop.
17:22Stop, refuel, and relaunch so we can resume exploration.
17:28The gravity on the Moon is only one-sixth as strong as Earth's.
17:33That's not just useful for endlessly entertaining yourself by jumping around.
17:38This difference means that launching rockets from our satellite is much easier compared to launching them from Earth,
17:44which requires a tremendous amount of fuel just to break free from the atmosphere.
17:49For example, the Saturn V rocket, which took astronauts to the Moon during the Apollo missions,
17:55was made up of more than 90% fuel just to get off the ground.
17:59On the Moon, however, it's much easier to launch a rocket.
18:03But that means that we could carry heavier loads with less fuel.
18:07It's like being able to take a bigger suitcase on your trip.
18:10If we can find and use ice on the Moon to create rocket fuel,
18:15it would turn our satellite into a practical and affordable stop for exploring the solar system.
18:20Not to mention that by applying some basic chemistry,
18:24we could extract oxygen from water and use it for breathing or rocket engines.
18:28Also, astronauts would need water to drink and grow crops on the lunar base.
18:34So, what do we know about the latest discoveries?
18:38For a long time, scientists thought the Moon was completely dry.
18:42But in 2009, NASA basically crashed a rocket into a crater.
18:47It caused an explosion of ice and vapor, like fireworks,
18:51and finally confirmed that the Moon had some kind of water.
18:56But how much?
18:57Well, enough to matter.
18:59The data suggests there could be hundreds of millions of tons of water ice
19:04locked up in the Moon's polar regions.
19:06Some estimates roughly say 1.3 trillion pounds.
19:10That's about the same weight as 460 million cars.
19:15Not exactly lakes, but still a lot.
19:17And there still could be more.
19:20This water could also contribute to uncovering cool scientific secrets.
19:24The ice is ancient, which makes it like a time capsule from the early days of the solar system.
19:31Studying those frozen molecules might tell us not only how water got to the Moon,
19:36but also how it appeared on Earth.
19:40Anyway, what's all that water doing on the Moon?
19:43How did it get there?
19:45Scientists assume that some of it probably hitched a ride on comets and asteroids billions of years ago.
19:51Many of those space rocks carried ice, and some of that water ended up in the polar regions.
19:57Another source could be the way solar wind interacts with the lunar surface.
20:01In any case, however this ice appeared on the Moon, the real trick is where it ended up, inside its
20:08polar craters.
20:09And while we can find the ice not only in the craters at the South Pole,
20:14that's where the largest, most stable reserves are believed to be.
20:17Some of those craters are enormous.
20:20One of the most famous is called the Shackleton Crater,
20:23and it's over 13 miles wide and more than 2 miles deep.
20:28That's almost twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.
20:31The Moon barely tilts on its axis, only about 1 degree,
20:35so the Sun never peaks over the rims of those deep polar pits.
20:40The temperatures dip to around negative 400 degrees Fahrenheit there.
20:44Any water or chemicals trapped in that frozen dirt just stay there,
20:49locked away like in a freezer.
20:51Something really cool is that at the South Pole,
20:54you have parts that are stuck in the perpetual darkness,
20:57but some nearby mountain ridges get almost non-stop sunlight.
21:02Scientists call them the peaks of eternal light.
21:05They are perfect for setting up solar panels,
21:08while still being close enough to access the icy treasures hidden below.
21:13The poles of the Moon are the only places in our solar system we know of
21:17where perpetual day and night exist side by side.
21:22But the eternal night isn't just fascinating, it's dangerous.
21:26The terrain out there is absolutely unforgiving.
21:30We can't even simulate something like that on Earth.
21:32We don't even know what it looks like from the inside.
21:36It's worse than exploring the northernmost part of Antarctica
21:39while wearing a blindfold.
21:41So now that we know this, is that potential water even obtainable?
21:45That question is probably worth several trillions of dollars.
21:50Yes, there's water over there,
21:52but getting to it won't be like scooping ice cream from a bowl.
21:55What we're really talking about are microscopic ice crystals mixed into lunar dust.
22:01To make use of it, machines would need to dig and heat up the soil,
22:05then capture the vapor before it escapes back into space.
22:08And then there's freezing.
22:12Even assuming a human or rover could safely reach the bottom of a crater,
22:16it'd be almost impossible to navigate.
22:19Batteries and equipment probably wouldn't last,
22:21and it's impossible to use solar panels or electronics down there.
22:25They'd freeze in minutes.
22:27However, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter uses all kinds of radars and sensors
22:32to sniff out what the crater looks like inside.
22:36And now there's an even sharper tool.
22:39Shadow cam.
22:40A camera so sensitive, it can capture details in light
22:43a hundred times dimmer than what our eyes can see.
22:47Basically, the ultimate night vision device.
22:50With it, we can finally map those pits without even setting foot there.
22:55That's why engineers are thinking up all sorts of clever solutions.
23:00Some concepts involve nuclear-powered rovers
23:03with headlights strong enough to carve through the dark.
23:06Others want robots that repel down crater walls
23:09or hop across the floor like pogo sticks.
23:11There are even ideas for drills that could melt frozen soil
23:15and trap water vapor like condensation on a cold soda can.
23:20The silver lining is that this water isn't going anywhere.
23:23Until we improve our technology, the supply will wait for us.
23:28That being said, space agencies are already making advancements.
23:33In fact, more than half a dozen new missions are lined up over the next few years.
23:38NASA's Artemis program is getting ready to send astronauts
23:42back around the moon and then down to the South Pole.
23:46China's Chang'e 7 is planning to check out those dark craters.
23:51And private companies like Firefly and Blue Origin
23:54are gearing up to deliver equipment and experiments.
23:58Now, here's a bonus, lesser-known fun fact.
24:01The moon smells.
24:03When Apollo astronauts brought lunar dust into their landers,
24:07it mixed with the oxygen inside and ended up smelling pretty strong.
24:11They said it was like burnt gunpowder or fireworks.
24:15Lunar dust has nothing to do with gunpowder,
24:18but its particles are highly reactive.
24:20After sitting in space for billions of years,
24:23they reacted instantly with oxygen in the cabin,
24:26creating that smoky odor.
24:28Future explorers are definitely going to notice that smell, too,
24:32since lunar dust tends to stick to everything.
24:35Let's hope that, aside from everything else,
24:37scientists will work out air fresheners for the moon base.
24:43China's U-2-2 is a robotic mission to the dark side of the moon,
24:47launched on December 7, 2018.
24:50On January 3, 2019,
24:52it completes the first-ever soft landing on the lunar far side.
24:56It lands in the Von Karman Crater,
24:59not far from the moon's South Pole.
25:01Scientists are interested in this area.
25:03Cold, permanently shadowed craters at the poles
25:06contain water ice.
25:08These ice patches are uneven
25:10and are likely to be ancient.
25:12In the South,
25:13most of the water ice is concentrated in craters,
25:16and at the North Pole,
25:17it's spread more sparsely.
25:19In any case,
25:20this ice can be used
25:21once a long-term manned mission lands on the moon.
25:25Anyway,
25:26several days after U-2-2 lands,
25:28it closes down its operating systems
25:31and hibernates through its first lunar night.
25:34It wakes up on January 29, 2019.
25:39All its tools operate normally.
25:41The rover travels 390 feet
25:43during its first full lunar day.
25:46One lunar day lasts for about 14 days,
25:49and a lunar night has the same duration.
25:51Moving and exploring during the day
25:53and switching off during the night
25:55becomes the rover's routine.
25:58It's the 8th lunar day
26:00when U-2-2 stumbles across something incredible.
26:03This discovery makes the scientists
26:05put off all other plans for the mission.
26:08They focus on figuring out
26:10what the strange material found by the rover is.
26:13In the beginning,
26:14this lunar day is no different from any other.
26:17It begins on July 25,
26:19when the rover starts making its way
26:21through an area pockmarked
26:23with tiny impact craters.
26:24U-2-2 is helped and monitored
26:27by the driver team
26:28from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.
26:31On July 28,
26:32the team is preparing to shut the rover down
26:35for a midday nap.
26:37The sun is high in the sky.
26:39It means there are high levels of radiation
26:41and scorching temperatures
26:43that can damage the machine.
26:45Before powering U-2-2 down,
26:47the scientists are looking through the pictures
26:49taken by the rover's main camera.
26:51That's when they spot it,
26:53a small crater filled with something
26:55that looks shockingly different
26:56from the surrounding landscape.
26:58Unable to identify the gel-like substance,
27:01the team orders the rover
27:02to check this bizarre finding.
27:05U-2-2 cautiously nears the crater
27:07to examine the weirdly colored stuff.
27:09The machine uses special equipment
27:11that detects the light reflected off the substance.
27:15It's supposed to help the researchers
27:17to understand the structure of the material.
27:19Unfortunately, the nature of the unusually colored finding
27:23has remained a mystery for over a year.
27:27No wonder that both the finding
27:29and the fact that initially
27:31there were no images of the enigmatic stuff
27:33sparked curiosity all over the world.
27:36The only available description of the substance
27:39was that it looked like a randomly colored shiny gel,
27:42something that's rather odd
27:44for the dusty, arid surface of the moon.
27:47But finally, the mystery seems to have been solved.
27:50The researchers have analyzed the information
27:53received from the rover's equipment.
27:55As expected, the substance turned out
27:57to be made up of rock,
27:59greenish and glistening breccia,
28:01in a sample no larger than 20 by 6 inches.
28:04It's kind of like a geologic version
28:07of jello salad with fruit inside.
28:09If you melt it down, it'll look glassy.
28:13Breccia consists of sharp stones
28:15joined together by a chalky substance.
28:18The sample found on the far side of the moon
28:20is made up of a mix of different minerals.
28:23The main is a type of silicate
28:25that's one of the most common components
28:27in both the moon and Earth's crust.
28:30The piece also contains some glass,
28:32which means it could have formed
28:34during a volcanic eruption.
28:35But volcanic activity on the moon
28:38stopped more than 3 billion years ago.
28:41That's why the researchers are almost sure
28:43it's unlikely to be the source
28:45of the unusual finding.
28:48The material could have been created
28:50by a massive asteroid, comet,
28:52or meteorite that once hit the moon.
28:54During the collision,
28:56the pressure and temperature were so high
28:58that huge amounts of rock instantly melted.
29:01Some pieces cooled down rapidly enough
29:03to form glass.
29:04The rest gathered at the center
29:07of the impact crater
29:07and grew colder more slowly,
29:10forming a new rock.
29:11The substance was likely not formed
29:14in the von Karmen crater,
29:15but in the nearby Finsen and Alder craters.
29:18The hollow where the rover made its finding
29:20was just 7 feet across.
29:22Whatever left it had to be no wider
29:25than an inch.
29:26But then, it would be too small
29:28to create such a large piece of breccia.
29:32It's interesting that the material
29:34is similar to the samples collected
29:36by the astronauts from NASA's Apollo missions.
29:39One of those samples was made of dark,
29:41broken shards of minerals glued together.
29:44It also contained some black, shiny glass.
29:47It's not clear, though,
29:49whether it's the same as the stuff
29:51discovered by U-2-2.
29:53When the rover took photos
29:54and made its measurements,
29:56it was rather dark in the area.
29:58The quality of the images
29:59isn't that great.
30:01The experts also explain
30:03that the mission is examining
30:04a previously unexplored area of the moon.
30:07That's why they don't have any samples
30:09from that region,
30:10to compare them with the greenish,
30:12shiny substance U-2-2 found.
30:14But, if their guesses turn out to be true,
30:17then the far side of the moon
30:19might have more in common
30:20with the Earth-facing one
30:22than we used to think.
30:24But, what's so special
30:25about this dark side
30:27of Earth's natural satellite?
30:28And why can't we see it?
30:32It's all because of the phenomenon
30:34known as tidal locking.
30:36Earth's only natural satellite
30:38rotates around its axis
30:40once in 27 days.
30:42It's the same amount of time
30:43it needs to go around our planet.
30:45That's why you always see the same face.
30:48To be precise,
30:5059% of the moon's surface
30:52is visible to people.
30:53It means that you can catch glimpses
30:55of the satellite's far side
30:57at some times of the year.
30:59The moon's side we can't see
31:01is quite different
31:02from the one facing Earth.
31:03It doesn't have dark spots
31:05that are visible at night.
31:07Those are lunar basaltic planes
31:09called lunar meria.
31:11They were created
31:12by ancient volcanic eruptions.
31:14Those happened about
31:153 to 4 billion years ago.
31:17Instead of planes,
31:18the far surface of the moon
31:20has countless craters
31:21and tall mountains.
31:23One of the ideas
31:24about such a striking difference
31:26between the two sides
31:27is based on the collision theory.
31:29It claims that billions of years ago,
31:32Earth collided with another planet
31:34or some other massive space body.
31:36After that,
31:37the debris from this collision
31:39crashed with something
31:40that would later form our moon.
31:42That's why the satellite's landscapes
31:44differ so greatly.
31:47A more recent theory
31:49suggests that the Earth-facing
31:51part of the moon
31:51is warmer
31:52because of the heat
31:53radiated by our planet.
31:55During the period
31:56of volcanic eruptions,
31:57it was cooler
31:58on the farther side.
32:00That's why the minerals there
32:01became solid faster.
32:03They formed a protective layer
32:05shielding the moon's insides
32:06against the meteorites.
32:08But each impact
32:09left an impressive crater.
32:11At the same time,
32:12a much softer crust
32:13on the front-facing side
32:15of the moon
32:15spewed lava
32:16every time a meteorite hit it.
32:18After this lava cooled down,
32:20it covered the impact craters.
32:23Even though the far side
32:24is often called dark,
32:26both sides get almost
32:27the same amount of sunlight.
32:29The side we see
32:30looks a bit brighter
32:31because of the glow
32:32coming from Earth.
32:34There are two reasons
32:36why people are interested
32:37in exploring the far side
32:38of the moon.
32:39After leaving our planet,
32:41many radio waves
32:42get blocked
32:43by Earth's natural satellite.
32:45If astronomers
32:45could build their radio
32:47and optical telescopes
32:48on the dark side,
32:49they would get
32:50much more data.
32:51There would be no problems
32:53with any kind
32:53of interference.
32:54The telescopes
32:55would also be shielded
32:57from the glare of daylight
32:58coming from our planet.
32:59If telescopes
33:00were set up inside craters,
33:02they would also be protected
33:03from solar radiation.
33:05Astronomers would be able
33:06to get an incredibly clear view
33:08of the far regions
33:09of the universe.
33:11Plus, scientists believe
33:13there are great amounts
33:14of helium-3
33:15on the opposite side
33:16of the moon.
33:17Earth is protected
33:18from solar winds
33:19that carry this gas
33:20by its magnetic field.
33:22But our natural satellite
33:24doesn't have such a shield.
33:26That's why experts believe
33:27the moon can be
33:28a perfect place
33:29for helium-3 mining.
33:31This rare element
33:32can be later used
33:34as the fuel
33:34for fusion reactors.