Gravity study shows why the moon's two sides look so different

Twin spacecraft mission reveals there might be a 'hot' side of the moon

The moon's nearside (that is, the side facing Earth) is dark-colored and dominated by ancient lava flows, whereas the farside is more rugged—and NASA researchers now suggest it's due to a wonky lunar interior. Using data from twin spacecraft named Ebb and Flow, they found a 2–3% difference in the moon mantle's ability to deform on each side. They say this data could be explained by the nearest hemisphere's insides being up to 170°C hotter than t…

Thermal asymmetry in the Moon’s mantle inferred from monthly tidal response

The Moon undergoes periodic tidal forcing due to its eccentric and oblique orbit around the Earth1. The response to this tidal interaction drives temporal changes in the lunar gravity field and is sensitive to the satellite’s internal structure2–4. We use data from the NASA GRAIL spacecraft5–9 to recover the time-varying lunar gravity field, including a degree-3 gravitational tidal Love number, k3. Here, we report our estimated value of k3 = 0.0…

The moon's very different sides explained in new NASA study

Scientists have long suspected the differences could be explained by what's inside the moon but until now, they couldn't prove it.

Gravity study shows why moon's two sides look so different

An exhaustive examination of lunar gravity using data obtained by two Nasa robotic spacecraft is offering new clues about why the two sides of the moon — the one perpetually facing Earth and the other always facing away — look so different.

Gravity reveals what's hiding beneath the Moon's surface

The moon's nearside is covered by vast plains, called mare, formed from molten rock that cooled and solidified billions of years ago. Its farside has much more rugged terrain, with few plains.