Tag Archive for 'South Pole-Aitken Basin'

Small ridges on the Moon’s far side (yellow) reveal evidence that the Moon may not be as dormant as previously believed. Image credit: Tom Watters, Smithsonian Institution

Researchers Find Evidence for Relatively Recent Seismic Activity on Lunar Far Side

Jan 29, 2025 by News Staff

New research from Smithsonian Institution and the University of Maryland shows that lunar fault structures may be recently and potentially currently active...

The South Pole-Aitken Basin on the lunar far side is one of the largest and oldest impact features in the Solar System. It’s easily seen in the elevation data. The low center is dark blue and purple. Mountains on its edge, remnants of outer rings, are red and yellow. Image credit: NASA / GSFC / University of Arizona.

NILS Detects Negative Ions on Lunar Surface

Jun 6, 2024 by News Staff

The Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS) instrument onboard China’s Chang’e-6 probe has detected negative ions on the surface of the Moon. These...

Global map of the albedo from the 750 nm filter of the UV-VIS camera onboard NASA’s Clementine spacecraft. The image shows the near side and far side of the Moon in Lambert, equal-area projection. Image credit: NASA.

Colossal Ancient Impact Explains Moon’s Two Faces

Apr 8, 2022 by News Staff

An ancient impact that formed the South Pole-Aitken basin, a vast impact structure on the far side of the Moon, would have created a massive plume of heat...

Meteoroids bombarded the Earth-Moon system 800 million years ago. Image credit: Murayama, Osaka University.

Young Moon May Have Been Subjected to Heavier Bombardment than Previously Thought

Sep 14, 2021 by News Staff

Impact bombardment has played a significant role in the evolution of the Earth-Moon system. However, it is suggested from different perspectives, including...

Geologic map of the southwest peak-ring area of the Schrödinger basin, including structural features, geologic units and inferred lithologies in the peak ring. Image credit: Czaplinski et al., doi: 10.3847/PSJ/abdb34.

Scientists Create Detailed Geologic Map of Moon’s South Polar Region

May 5, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of planetary researchers from the University of Arkansas and elsewhere has produced a high-resolution geologic map of the Schrödinger...

Active Tectonic System Spotted on Moon’s Nearside

May 4, 2020 by News Staff

A system of wrinkle ridges on the nearside maria of the Moon is evidence of seismic activity set in motion 4.3 billion years ago that could be ongoing...

The Yutu-2 rover moves across the far side of the Moon. Image credit: CNSA.

China’s Yutu-2 Rover Reveals What Lies Beneath Moon’s Farside Surface

Feb 28, 2020 by News Staff

On January 3, 2019, China National Space Administration’s Chang’e-4 probe successfully landed on the eastern floor of Von Karman, a 180-km- (112 mile)...

Mysterious Mass of Material Discovered Beneath Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin

Jun 11, 2019 by News Staff

The South Pole-Aitken basin — the largest crater in the Solar System — is a gigantic impact structure on the far side of the Moon. Data from...

Yutu-2 Rover Finds Lunar Mantle Minerals on the Far Side of the Moon

May 16, 2019 by News Staff

China’s Chang’E-4 lander recently touched down in Von Karman — a 112-mile (180 km) wide crater located within an even larger impact crater known...

A January 30, 2019, image from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter orbiting the Moon shows Chang’e 4 lander; arrows indicate position of the lander on the floor of Von Karman crater; the sharp crater behind and to the left of the landing site is 12,800 feet (3,900 m) across and 1,970 feet (600 m) deep. Image credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State University.

NASA Orbiter Spies China’s Chang’e-4 Lander

Feb 7, 2019 by News Staff

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) recently caught a view of China National Space Administration’s Chang’e-4 lander on the lunar surface. A...

Chang’e-4 Probe Touches Down on Far Side of the Moon

Jan 4, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

At 9:26 p.m. EST on January 2, 2019 (2:26 a.m. GMT, 10:26 a.m. Beijing Time on January 3), China National Space Administration’s Chang’e-4 lunar probe...

Dr. Moriarty and Professor Pieters identified four distinct compositional regions within and around the South Pole-Aitken basin on the Moon. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

New Research Details Mineralogy of Enormous Impact Crater on the Far Side of the Moon

Mar 1, 2018 by News Staff

A team of planetary scientists from Brown University and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has mapped the mineralogy of the South Pole-Aitken basin,...

A monochrome mosaic of the Moon from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, centered in the middle of the South Pole-Aitken Basin. Image credit: NASA / Goddard / Arizona State University.

Strange Structure near Moon’s South Pole Has Volcanic Origin, Scientists Say

Oct 15, 2015 by News Staff

Mafic Mound, a distinctive and enigmatic feature near the Moon’s south pole, is a volcanic structure unlike any other found on the surface of the Earth’s...