GRAND CANYONS OF THE MOON

WASHINGTON and HOUSTON, Feb. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a significant discovery, a team of scientists at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), an institute of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), found that two immense canyons hidden in the lunar far side are similar in width and depth to the Earth's Grand Canyon. The findings were published today in Nature Communications.

The two extraordinary features were produced during a period of planetary upheaval when the Earth and Moon were being resurfaced by impacting asteroids and comets. "Nearly four billion years ago," explains lead author David Kring (USRA), "an asteroid or comet flew over the lunar south pole, brushed by the mountain summits of Malapert and Mouton, and hit the lunar surface. The impact ejected high-energy streams of rock that carved two canyons that are the size of Earth's Grand Canyon. While the Grand Canyon took millions of years to form, the two grand canyons on the Moon were carved in less than 10 minutes."

The impacting asteroid or comet likely hit the lunar surface with a speed of nearly 55,000 kilometers per hour (35,000 miles per hour). The impact produced the enormous 320-kilometer-diameter Schrödinger impact basin and propelled the rocky debris that scoured the deep grooves into the lunar surface.

The investigation began in Houston where second author Danielle Kallenborn was conducting an undergraduate student internship with Kring at USRA's LPI and also engaged impact cratering specialist Gareth Collins at Imperial College London where Kallenborn is now conducting doctoral thesis studies. Probing the distant past when impact bombardment was reshaping the Moon captivated Kallenborn: "Analyzing the Schrödinger impact event showed me what a fascinating research target the Moon is. The lunar surface is like a timestamp of the early times of our solar system."

The authors analyzed the canyons using images and elevation data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. Those measurements indicate the canyons are 20 to 27 kilometers wide, 2.7 to 3.5 kilometers deep, and 270 to 860 kilometers long.  The features are called Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck. 

The authors calculated the ballistic flight of ejected debris that created the canyons.  After flying over the lunar surface, the debris hit the lunar surface at speeds of about 1 kilometer per second (3600 kilometers per hour or 2237 miles per hour). The debris produced rays of secondary impact craters that form the canyons. 

Co-author Gareth Collins adds: "The Schrödinger crater is similar in many regards to the dino-killing Chicxulub crater on Earth. By showing how Schrödinger's km-deep canyons were carved, this work has helped to illuminate how energetic the ejecta from these impacts can be."

The energy to produce the grand canyons on the Moon is about 130 times larger than the energy in the global inventory of nuclear weapons.

Most of the excavated rock was ejected away from the lunar south polar region, which Artemis astronauts will soon explore. Because the Schrödinger impact debris did not bury the lunar south polar region, astronauts will find it easier to collect geologic samples from an even older epoch in lunar history. Moreover, the two canyons provide an extraordinary opportunity to sample material that is more ancient and once lay two or three kilometers beneath the lunar surface.

That extraordinary geology will be matched by extraordinary vistas. Dr. Kring notes, "The splendor of the canyons is so dramatic that if exposed on Earth, they would be national or international parks." 

Additional Information

DOI Number: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55675-z

About USRA 

Founded in 1969, under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences at the request of the U.S. Government, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) is a nonprofit corporation chartered to advance space-related science, technology, and engineering. USRA operates scientific institutes and facilities and conducts other major research and educational programs. An association of 121 university members, USRA engages the broader university community, employs in-house scientific talent, and offers innovative research, development, and project management expertise.

 More information about USRA is available at www.usra.edu.

About The Lunar and Planetary Institute

The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), an institute of Universities Space Research Association, was established during the Apollo program in 1968 to foster international collaboration and to serve as a repository for information gathered during the early years of the space program. Today, the LPI is an intellectual leader in lunar and planetary science. The Institute serves as a scientific forum attracting world-class visiting scientists, postdoctoral fellows, students, and resident experts; supports and serves the research community through newsletters, meetings, and other activities; collects and disseminates planetary data while facilitating the community's access to NASA astromaterials samples and facilities; engages and excites the public about space science and invests in the development of future generations of scientists. The research carried out at the LPI supports NASA's efforts to explore the solar system. More information about LPI is available at www.lpi.usra.edu.

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SOURCE Universities Space Research Association