Cracks reveal Moon may be shrinking
Cracks in the surface of the Moon suggest that our nearest neighbour in space is shrinking.
Like a deflating balloon, the satellite is contracting as its interior cools, scientists believe. The discovery was made after a probe captured images of unusual fault lines called "lobate scarps" in the lunar highlands.
Similar cracks were first seen in photos taken near the Moon's equator by the Apollo astronauts. Fourteen new lobate scarps have now been identified by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, researchers reported in the journal Science.
Dr Thomas Watters, from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, said: "Relatively young, globally distributed faults show recent contraction of the whole Moon, likely due to cooling of the lunar interior."
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