The Moon Is Not Acting Normally — Something Weird Is Happening on It
Discover how NASA's GRAIL mission found the Moon's near side flexes more, unveiling its asymmetric and warmer interior.
The Moon’s Near Side Is Flexing More
The Moon Is Not Symmetrical Inside
The Near Side May Be Warmer
Radioactive Elements May Be the Reason
This Could Explain the Dark Lunar Plains
The Far Side Stayed More Rugged
NASA’s GRAIL Mission Made the Discovery Possible
The Moon May Still Hold Surprises for Future Missions
It Could Help Scientists Study Other Worlds
The Moon Is Stranger Than It Looks
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The Moon may look calm and lifeless from Earth, but new research suggests something stranger is happening beneath its surface. Scientists using gravity data from NASA’s GRAIL mission found that the Moon’s near side — the side always facing Earth — appears to “flex” more than the far side under Earth’s gravitational pull. That means the Moon’s interior is not as balanced and symmetrical as researchers once assumed.
The explanation is not science fiction. The near side of the Moon seems to have a warmer, less rigid mantle than the far side, possibly because it contains higher levels of radioactive elements such as thorium. Those elements release heat as they decay, helping explain why the near side has dark volcanic plains while the far side is more rugged and heavily cratered.