Researchers at the University of Arizona showed in a new study that, during its formation, the Moon may have “turned inside out”. From a computational model, more was discovered about its possible history and the hypotheses of the sequence of events.
In this study, crossing existing data with simulations provided a better visualization of the satellite's shape. The advances made are important for greater knowledge of the satellite when the Artemis mission astronauts land on it – which is scheduled to happen in 2025.
A possible new history of the Moon
Scientists say the Moon was formed 4.5 billion years ago after a small planet collided with Earth and sent molten rock debris into space. This debris solidified, forming our natural satellite.
Most of what is known about the origin of the Moon comes from analysis of rocks collected by astronauts from the Apollo mission, launched more than 50 years ago . In these stones it was possible to detect a high concentration of Titanium, which generated controversy about the formation of the celestial object.
The researchers then investigated the composition of the collected objects and generated more hypotheses about what could have happened.
Because it formed quickly and at high temperatures, the Moon was probably covered by an ocean of magma and only its crust was solidified, forming the bright surface that we can see. However, his insides were still out of balance.
A The idea that the satellite “turned inside out” comes from the theory that the material inside solidified and descended into magma . Then, it would have melted again and returned to the surface, justifying the Titanium in the rocks.
“Our Moon has literally turned itself inside out,” said study co-author and associate professor at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Jeff Andrews-Hanna. “But there is little physical evidence to clarify the exact sequence of events during this critical phase of lunar history, and much disagreement in the details of what happened.”
Study hypotheses
Based on this prior knowledge, the researchers' computational model was developed to cross-reference data and discover more about the history of the Moon. The scientific community wants to know more about the speed of these events, their order, which side formed first and other possibilities.
In the study, it was detected that our natural satellite is “crooked”, generating hypotheses about the gravitational anomalies it faced during its solidification.
“For the first time, we have physical evidence showing what was happening inside the Moon during this critical phase of its evolution, and that's really exciting,” said Andrews-Hanna. “We discovered that the earliest history of the Moon is written beneath the surface, and only the right combination of models and data was able to reveal that story.”
This new knowledge could be useful when Artemis Mission astronauts land on the Moon in September 2025.
The study was published in Nature Geoscience on April 8 and can be accessed here.
Source: CNN Brasil
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