Moon Fault (IMAGE)

University of Maryland

Moon Fault

Caption

This prominent thrust fault is one of thousands discovered on the moon by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). These faults resemble small stair-shaped cliffs, or scarps, when seen from the lunar surface. The scarps form when one section of the moon's crust (left-pointing arrows) is pushed up over an adjacent section (right-pointing arrows) as the moon's interior cools and shrinks. New research suggests that these faults may still be active today.

Credit

LROC NAC frame M190844037LR; NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University/Smithsonian

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