Seismic activity recently pinpointed to the lunar south pole is symptomatic of something bigger — the moon is shrinking, a new study has found.
Over the last few hundred million years, the core of the natural satellite has cooled, leading to the formation of faults, moonquakes and landslides as the lunar surface buckles inward. As its surface deforms, the moon’s circumference has shrunk nearly 50 metres, say researchers in a study published in the Planetary Science Journal last week.
The study, co-authored by Catherine Johnson, a professor in the University of British Columbia’s Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, adds to a growing body of evidence that the moon is more seismically active than once thought.
Gordon Osinski, a professor in the University of Western Ontario’s Department of Earth Sciences, said the findings could pose a threat to lunar outposts planned as part of an upcoming series of crewed moon missions.
“I think the biggest implication is for permanent structures,” said Osinski in an email.
Blue boxes show the locations of proposed Artemis III landing regions. Lobate thrust fault scarps are shown by small red lines. The possible epicentre locations of a powerful moonquake overlap with the scarps and many of the landing regions for an upcoming Artemis III mission. NASA/LRO/LROC/ASU/Smithsonian Institution
Many of the small thrust faults captured by the researchers are “likely still active today,” the study found. But unlike the quick duration of terrestrial earthquakes, some of those recorded on the moon can last hours at a time.
One of the events analyzed in the study was a magnitude 5 moonquake recorded by the Apollo Passive Seismic Network in the 1970s that lasted an entire afternoon and was one of the largest ever recorded.
Based on their analysis, the researchers concluded that seismic activity on the south pole could pose “a potential hazard to future robotic and human exploration in the region.”
Osinski, who didn’t take part in the research but has helped train Canadian astronauts for upcoming missions, says the findings suggest engineers will have to take the seismic activity into account in the same way people design structures in earthquake-prone regions on Earth.
“Given none of the previous missions to the moon have been affected by moonquakes, I think the upcoming robotic and human missions are hopefully safe,” he said. “We would have to be incredibly unlucky to have a moonquake during one of these missions.”
A new era of moonshot missions heats up
On Dec. 11, 2022, Artemis 1 touched down in the Pacific off the coast of California, capping an un-crewed trip around the moon. The spacecraft carried a number of payloads on-board, including an experiment that seeks to develop countermeasures to protect humans against cosmic radiation.
The Earth and the moon seen from a camera mounted on one of the Orion spacecraft’s solar arrays. NASA
In September 2025, Artemis II is scheduled to take four astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen, in a lunar orbit in the first human test-flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission is slated for 2026 with the goal of eventually establishing a long-term presence on the moon.
The landing, which is set to target the south pole, will mark the first time in more than 50 years that humans have set foot on the lunar surface. It is also expected to mark the first time a woman and person of colour will walk on the moon.
By establishing a moon base or possibly a colony, missions to the moon look to learn what is required to live and work in a lunar environment — one that faces a 300-degree-Celsius temperature swing between night and day.
A mosaic of about 1,500 images shows the south polar region of the moon. The polar regions of the moon are of special interest because scientists say ice could be locked up in permanent shadows, especially in the south. NASA/JPL/USGS
Artemis IV, currently on track to launch in September 2028, is scheduled to bring two astronauts to the moon’s surface, while continuing to assemble Lunar Gateway, a deep space outpost orbiting the moon meant to act as a staging point for further exploration.
Roughly 400,000 kilometres from Earth, the station will eventually be home to Canadarm3, Canada’s largest financial contribution to the Artemis missions.
Some hope the moonshot missions will prepare for future missions to Mars. Others say human presence on the moon will allow scientists to set up radio-telescopes on the dark side of the moon. Shielded from human radio waves, such an observatory could open up an ideal outpost to monitor the universe.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
