Moon rocks reveal hidden lunar history

Quick Summary:

And what is behind the surprising finding that lunar volcanoes may have been active much more recently than previously thought? “The more we look at the Moon, the more we’ve discovered—and the more we realize how little we know,” says Clive R.

In 2014, Lawrence and colleagues posited that some patches of irregular terrain in the middle of the dark plains, or mare, spotted by the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter were the result of volcanism that kept going until less than 100 million years ago.“That is totally, totally surprising,” says cosmochemist Qing-Zhu Yin of the University of California, Davis.

But first, researchers need to simply find out more about the Moon, its history, its geology and the possibility of extracting resources—and that requires up-close exploration, which is sure to bring more surprises.“Once you’re on the ground, you’re like, oh … what’s this? ” Gross says.

---

More Pictures

---

Read Quick SummarySave Time

or

Article Details

Author / Journalist: Knowable Magazine

Category: Technology

Markets: United StatesChina

Topics: Moon rocks Lunar exploration Syndication The Moon Science

Source Website Secure: Yes (HTTPS)

News Sentiment: Neutral

Fact Checked: Legitimate

Article Type: News Report

Published On: 2025-02-16 @ 12:03:47 (5 days ago)

News Timezone: GMT -5:00

News Source URL: arstechnica.com

Language: English

Article Length: 1680 words

Reading Time: 10 minutes read

Sentences: 71 lines

Sentence Length: 24 words per sentence (average)

Platforms: Desktop Web, Mobile Web, iOS App, Android App

Copyright Owner: © Ars Technica

News ID: 26270565

View Article Analysis

About Ars Technica

Main Topics: Technology

Official Website: arstechnica.com

Update Frequency: 23 posts per day

Year Established: 1998

Headquarters: United States

News Last Updated: 8 hours ago

Coverage Areas: United States

Ownership: Independent Company

Publication Timezone: GMT -5:00

Content Availability: Worldwide

News Language: English

RSS Feed: Available (XML)

API Access: Available (JSON, REST)

Website Security: Secure (HTTPS)

Publisher ID: #32

Publisher Details

Frequently Asked Questions