New lunar fault maps show the moon has shrunk by about 45 meters
A study published Oct 14 in The Planetary Science Journal estimates the moon's radius decreased by approximately 45 meters over the past 400 to 800 million years.
Researchers mapped thousands of faults
The team led by Thomas R. Watters identified more than 10,000 young faults across the lunar surface. They used observations from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera to find these landforms in both highlands and maria regions.
Shrinkage rate is very slow
If the decrease has been constant, the moon shrinks about 6 to 11 centimeters per million years. This pace is much slower than the average movement of Earth's tectonic plates.
Cooling interior drives contraction
The paper attributes this gradual change to the moon's interior cooling over time. The resulting contraction creates thrust faults that appear as lobate scarps and small ridges.
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