The Moon, one of the important symbols of the Cold War where the USA first set foot, is on the agenda again. First China and then India succeeded in landing our satellite on the Moon. In particular, India also made the first landing on the south pole of the Moon. New information revealed by US researchers further increases the mystery of the Moon. Accordingly, the Moon is on the agenda with its mysterious earthquakes discovered by Apollo 17.
Are the mysterious moonquakes that occurred during the US Apollo 17 mission man-made?
The Apollo 17 mission, which took place in 1972, was the last mission in which astronauts set foot on the Moon. Although more than fifty years have passed since this mission, new details have emerged.
In this last mission to land on the Moon, Astronauts placed seismic sensors on the Moon’s surface to detect Moonquakes. The data from these seismic sensors were re-examined by a group of scientists.
The Apollo 17 mission was the last Astronaut-powered mission to the Moon’s surface.
In this examination, earthquake tremors that occur when the Sun rises to its highest position on the lunar surface attracted attention. Interestingly, these earthquakes turned out to be quite regular and recurring. Scientists think that such regular and recurring earthquakes are similar to man-made ones.
Of course, it is unknown what kind of structure there is under the Moon’s surface and what causes this regular shaking. Normally, moonquakes occur due to temperature changes that occur between day and night.
On our satellite, we encounter temperatures of 121 degrees during the day and -133 degrees at night. These large temperature differences cause the Moon’s surface to expand when it is hot and contract when it is cold. This expansion and contraction appears as moonquakes.
Apollo 17’s seismic sensors collected data from October 1976 to May 1977. Moonquakes caused by temperature differences occur when the Sun begins to descend from its highest position. Mysterious lunar earthquakes occurred regularly when the Sun reached its highest position on the lunar morning.
Sensors were able to trace the source of the earthquake to the Apollo 17 lunar lander. Researchers also discovered the time interval of these mysterious earthquakes. Accordingly, two mysterious moonquakes occur every day, one every five to six minutes and another every five to seven earth hours.
As a result of these researches, scientists think that the subsurface of the Moon will be further investigated. Although this research fuels conspiracy theories, we have no information about the mysterious moonquakes being man-made, other than that they are extremely regular.
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