Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Abandoned Apollo 17 lunar lander module is causing tremors on the moon
The moon has a long rotation period, about 27 Earth days, nearly the
same amount of time to orbit Earth. It makes one lunar day or one lunar night
about 13.5 Earth days long. In the absence of an atmosphere, the temperatures
of the lunar surface go below 170 degrees Celsius during the night and go above
120 degrees Celsius during the long daytime. This makes most objects on the
surface as well as the surface itself contract and expand in accordance with
the temperatures. About half a century ago, NASA’s Apollo 17, the last human
mission to the Moon, landed the Moon and left its lander module on the surface.
It also left an array of seismometers to detect tremors caused by the Moon’s
drastic temperature fluctuations, called emergent thermal moonquakes. Recently,
with the aid of an AI algorithm, researchers found that the lander module seems
to be causing small tremors to the Moon’s surface. Also, even though there are
no shifting tectonic plates on the Moon, it still has an active interior life
which could cause seismic events. We need to learn more from the seismometers
on the Moon to prepare for human missions.
Enjoy reading the article and learn about seismic activities on the
Moon.
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