The Moon is getting smaller, according to NASA: what does this mean and how will it affect the Earth?

At 384,400 kilometers away from Earth, the Moon is an object of constant fascination and discovery for humanity. A month ago, NASA made a discovery that surprised science. Through images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), it was determined that Earth’s natural satellite is becoming smaller.

The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth. According to the latest official estimates, its size is around 1,740 kilometers in radius, which implies that if the Earth were a coin, the Moon would be a coffee bean.

Despite being very small, the natural satellite plays a vital role in controlling various physical phenomena that take place on our planet, such as the duration and magnitude of the tides that are directly linked to the gravitational influence that the planet has. Moon has over the Earth.

“The molten outer core of the Moon began to cool and caused it to shrink noticeably. In turn, when it cooled it caused cracks on the surface and an unexpected contraction process,” he explained. Thomas R. Wattersled by the team of researchers.

“The Moon is slowly decreasing in size and moving away from us. Although it is extremely slow, the associated phenomena can become problems for space exploration and for future missions that will need to use the Moon as a stopping point,” added the NASA scientist.

The Moon is shrinking: how does it affect the Earth?

This discovery challenged the scientific conception that the satellite is an immutable celestial body. “The Moon is thought to be a geologically dead object where nothing has happened for billions of years, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Thomas shared.

At the moment this finding did not determine a change on Earth, but they do estimate significant implications for future space exploration. Specifically in NASA’s Artemis III mission, which seeks to land at the south pole of the moon.

Watters stressed that the intention is not to discourage future research on the star, but rather to make known the dynamic changes that are currently happening on the lunar surface.