Scientists have proposed an explanation for the formation of two massive canyons on the Moon’s surface, rivaling the Grand Canyon in depth and length. The canyons, known as Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck, were carved out by a 15-mile-wide meteor that struck the Moon about 3.8 billion years ago.
The impact, similar to the one that destroyed the dinosaurs on Earth, excavated a crater about 200 miles wide and punched up to 15 miles into the crust. In just minutes, the canyons formed as giant rocks crashed down in staccato succession, creating the straight, narrow trenches.
According to Dr. David Kring of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, the energy released by the impact was more than 130 times greater than an explosion of all nuclear weapons on Earth today.
The researchers used NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographs to calculate the speed and direction of the debris and proposed that the incoming asteroid or comet hit at an angle. The straight lines radiating from the crater suggest that the meteor came from the south, with the curtain of debris largely kicked to the north.
This new analysis provides encouraging news for NASA’s Artemis program, as it suggests that areas near the south pole where astronauts want to land are not covered by debris from this impact and rocks from a much larger, older impact would be exposed at the surface.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/science/moon-canyons.html