NASA Lab Reveals the Moon's Surface Facing Earth Is Completely Different From the Other Side
People have been gazing moon for centuries, and along with poems and tales, tons of scientific analysis have also been done with those observations. However, experts, due to their inaccessibility, have never had much chance to verify their assertions. Recent missions have helped experts confirm and withdraw many of their speculations about the satellite, stated IFL Science. Findings regarding one of these theories have been published in the journal Nature.
For a long time, astronomers speculated that the moon's two faces had different characteristics. The face towards Earth is called the near side, while the one that is away from the planet is called the far side. The study analyzed data brought by the NASA Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, which proves the speculation to be true.
The GRAIL mission had two spacecraft orbit the moon in 2011 and 2012, respectively, stated New Scientist. The objective was to gather insights on how the moon's gravity altered their motion. Researchers understood that the moon's gravitational field reflected its physical features. Therefore, the consequences of its gravity would allow experts to figure out the satellite's characteristics and also how it has been deformed at certain points because of the Earth's tidal pull. Past analysis predicted that the moon's near side exhibits more deformation compared to the far side, because of the tidal pull. Insights from the GRAIL data confirmed this hypothesis.
The collected information also indicated that the moon's near side is warmer than the moon's far side. For this assertion, the team used the insights to calculate how likely it is for the moon to change shape in response to Earth’s gravity. The results showed that the moon is 72 per cent more likely to get altered due to the pull if it is uneven. Researchers then created moon models to figure out the chemical makeup needed in the uneven surface for this high probability. The model that aligned with the likability was the one where the moon's near side exhibited a higher temperature than the moon's far side.
Through the data, researchers formulated a high-resolution map of the moon's gravitational field, stated IFL Science. This map further indicated that the depths of the near side were also more geologically active than the far side. Experts believe the temperature difference could be around 100 to 200°C (180-360°F) due to more radioactive material in the near side. Researchers believe these changes between the two faces could be attributed to the satellite's volcanic history. They want to conduct more examinations to conclude this assertion.
The map has further shown differences in aspects like the number of heat-producing elements, the thickness of the crust, and topography. These distinct features have also made experts hypothesize that the nearside mantle could be softer than the farside mantle by 2 or 3 percent. Researchers were stunned by the findings because, though there were speculations about the differences between the two faces, no expert ever thought that the differences would be this extreme. The team is hopeful that these findings will help in future missions and analysis of the moon's interior.