Scientists have produced the first global map and analysis of small mare ridges (SMRs) on the moon, a characteristic geological feature of tectonic activity. Published in The Planetary Science Journal Dec. 24, 2025, the analysis performed by scientists at the National Air and Space Museum's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies and colleagues reveals for the first time that SMRs are geologically young and are widespread across the lunar maria—the vast, dark plains on the moon's surface. The team's discovery of how SMRs form introduces a new set of potential moonquake sources that could affect future site selections for lunar landings.
  • Zachariah@lemmy.world
    17·
    1 day ago

    Both the moon and Earth are tectonically active; however, the tectonic forces affecting each body are different. Earth’s crust is divided into plates that have converged, separated, and slide past each other to produce expansive mountain ridges, deep ocean trenches, and a ring of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean. The moon’s crust is not divided into plates, yet stresses within the lunar crust give rise to several distinctive landforms.

    One of the most common of these is lobate scarps, which form when the crust compresses and the resulting forces push material up and over adjacent crust along a fault, creating a ridge. These scarps, found in the lunar highlands, have formed only within the last billion years, or the last 20% of the moon’s history.