Moonquakes Triggering Dozens Of Landslides On Lunar Surface, Raising Concerns For Future Human Settlements

A group of Chinese scientists has asserted that the Moon is less geologically dormant than had been thought. A new research paper shows dozens of newly discovered fresh landslides on the surface of the Moon, the majority caused by moonquakes. The finding could prove instrumental in choosing safer spots for future lunar bases as China moves forward with ambitions for a research center at the Moon's south pole by 2035.

The findings were published on September 11 in the peer-reviewed National Science Review. NSR is an English-language journal supervised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Researchers from Sun Yat-sen University, Fuzhou University, and Shanghai Normal University examined 562 pairs of before-and-after images from 74 unstable locations on the Moon. The researchers further revealed that 41 new landslides have occurred since 2009.

As per the research, although approximately 30 per cent of these moon landslides could have been triggered by impact events due to space debris, most were attributed to seismic activity deep within the Moon.

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Moon Not Geologically Dead

"Human civilisation has never been closer to establishing permanent infrastructures on the moon, which will serve as scientific research stations and/or deep-space outposts," the authors wrote.

Moonquakes were first detected on the Apollo missions, but for many years, scientists believed the internal activity of the Moon had stopped long ago. This new data contradicts that idea, indicating the Moon is still seismically active.

The scientists concluded the most likely explanation for the majority of the new landslides is endogenic seismic activity, moonquakes caused from the interior of the lunar body.

Focusing In Mare Imbrium Basin

The research highlighted that the majority of landslides occured on slopes between 24° and 42°, commonly along crater walls, wrinkle ridges, and volcanic patches. They were most clustered in the east Mare Imbrium basin, suggesting it as one of the Moon's more active areas.

NASA has already cautioned that moonquakes can persist for hours as compared to earthquakes, which last either seconds or minutes. Such prolonged shaking may be dangerous to future lunar activities by destroying surface structures. Moonquakes can also destabilise launchers or interfere with missions.

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Xiao Zhiyong, Professor at the Planetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory at Sun Yat-sen University, explained that the landslides were relatively small. They were shorter than one kilometre and less than 100 meters wide. Landslides indicate that one should carefully evaluate lunar seismic activity prior to constructing permanent bases.