A new study suggests that an asteroid strike on the moon billions of years ago formed two massive valleys, comparable in size to Earth’s Grand Canyon. Researchers from the US and Britain used data collected by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to simulate the impact and estimate that it happened near the south pole about 3.8 billion years ago. The speed of the incoming object was estimated to be around 55,000 kilometers per hour.
The team used the orbiter’s three-dimensional map data to recreate the path of the asteroid and material displaced by the crash, suggesting that the space rock passed over the south pole before hitting and created a huge basin and launched rocky materials at speeds up to 1 kilometer per second. The canyons are estimated to be around 25 kilometers across and contain more energy than all the world’s current nuclear weapons.
The study’s findings suggest that the asteroid strike was a “very violent” geologic process, but it may also make future lunar exploration easier. NASA plans to land astronauts in this area soon, which could help scientists collect ancient rocks that will be at or close to the surface due to debris from the impact being jettisoned away from the south pole.
The discovery of these massive valleys can provide valuable insights into the moon’s past history and may also shed light on the formation of Earth.
Source: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/study-asteroid-hit-created-two-grand-canyons-on-moon/7964413.html