New evidence of the Moon’s internal structure has been revealed by a team of scientists from France. They discovered that our natural satellite seems to have a solid core inside, surrounded by an external and liquid one, as happens on Earth, and they also found explanations for the presence of elements found in volcanic regions of the Moon.
In 2011, NASA scientists used data collected by astronauts from the Apollo missions to investigate the Moon’s interior, and found that there appeared to be an inner core about 240 km in radius. In the new study, the French scientists found evidence that matches that of the NASA results.
They also discovered that the solid core of the Moon must be formed by a metal with a density similar to that of iron. Different methods had already revealed the presence of the liquid core, but the solid was hidden for all this time because it was too small to be detected.
The researchers identified the structure with the help of computer models, which worked with data from space missions and experiments with lasers. Furthermore, the authors found some evidence that seems to support the hypothesis of movement of material in the mantle (the layer between the core and crust) during lunar evolution.
This process may explain the presence of iron-rich compounds on the surface of the Moon, which would have risen from the interior to the surface. The material would have formed volcanic rocks in the crust, while compounds too dense in relation to their surroundings would have sunk through the surface, returning to the region between the core and the mantle.
The study also showed that the density of the inner core is very similar to that of the Earth’s core, which indicates that it may be made of iron. According to the models, the inner core must have a radius of 258 km, and the outer one, 362 km.
The article with the results of the study was published in the journal Nature.
