The mysterious moonquakes that occur every day are actually linked to the abandoned Apollo 17 moon base, according to the American “space” website. Recent study.
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Researchers from California Institute of Technology Data collected over an 8-month period between 1976 and 1977 were analyzed by seismic sensors installed by the Apollo 17 astronauts.
Graphs created from these show thermal moonquakes that occur regularly every day at the same time, in the afternoon, when the sun begins to set and the temperature begins to fall on the star.
However, another seismic activity has been captured by instruments installed by the astronauts, and it will be very different from the first.
It will occur every lunar morning, and will be characterized by several small, regular seismic signals, which has prompted scientists to study it in depth.
They decided that it would ultimately not be about lunar quakes, but rather about expanding the Apollo 17 lunar base, located a few hundred meters from the sensors, due to the radical increase in temperature when exposed to sunlight.
The temperature on the Moon ranges from 121 degrees Celsius during the day to -133 degrees during the night, which may be causing this expansion of the material that makes up the Moon’s base and whose friction with the Earth has been captured by seismic instruments.
“Every lunar morning, when the Sun hits the base of the Moon, it begins to move,” says geophysics professor and co-author of the study, Allen Husker, in a press release.
Although it is well documented that the Moon does not have tectonic plates, researchers still wonder about its internal structure.
“It is important to analyze the data we already have so that we can better guide future experiments and missions in order to answer the right questions,” continues Mr. Hosker.
The captured moonquakes are too weak to be felt on the surface, but they provide scientists with important information about the expansion that future lunar inhabitants will need to absorb in order to complete their missions.
