New research suggests that when an asteroid crashed onto the Moon billions of years ago, it carved out a pair of Grand Canyon-sized trenches across the lunar surface.
This is good news for scientists and NASA, as it means that ancient rocks in their original state remain untouched near the Moon’s South Pole, unaffected by astronaut activity.
U.S. and British scientists used photos and data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to map the region and calculate the trajectory of the debris that formed this canyon nearly 8.8 billion years ago. Their findings were published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.
Before the next space rock struck the Moon, it passed over the South Pole, creating a massive basin and sending boulders hurtling at speeds of 1 kilometer per second, causing extensive damage. The debris landed like missiles, carving out two canyons comparable in size to Arizona’s Grand Canyon in just about 10 minutes—a process that would take millions of years on Earth.
“A Violent and Dramatic Geological Event”
David King, one of the lead researchers, stated, “It was an extremely violent and dramatic geological process.”
King and his team estimate that the asteroid was about 15 miles (25 km) in size, and the energy required to create these two canyons was more than 130 times the combined power of all nuclear weapons currently in existence.
Most of the debris was ejected in one direction from the South Pole, King noted.
This suggests that much of the Moon’s surface in NASA’s targeted exploration area will not be buried under layers of debris. Instead, ancient rocks dating back four billion years will remain exposed for collection by future Moonwalkers. These chronologically significant rocks could help scientists understand the Moon’s origins—and even provide insights into Earth’s early history.
It remains unclear whether these two canyons permanently reshaped the South Pole in the same way craters do. “That is something we will clearly need to investigate further,” King added.
Permanently shadowed regions in the lower areas of the Moon are believed to contain vast amounts of ice, which could potentially be converted into rocket fuel and drinking water for future lunar missions.
NASA’s Artemis program, the successor to Apollo, aims to return astronauts to the Moon this decade. The first human lunar landing is scheduled within a year or two after an initial crewed mission orbiting the Moon.
Associated Press Health & Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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