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NASA images show Moon's battered beginnings

  • This image shows the variations in the lunar gravity field. Red corresponds to mass excesses and blue corresponds to mass deficiencies, showing the height and depth of the moon's surface (NASA)
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    This image shows the variations in the lunar gravity field. Red corresponds to mass excesses and blue corresponds to mass deficiencies, showing the height and depth of the moon's surface (NASA)

    This image shows the variations in the lunar gravity field. Red corresponds to mass excesses and blue corresponds to mass deficiencies, showing the height and depth of the moon's surface (NASA)
  • NASA's GRAIL mission took this shot of the surface of the moon, which clearly shows the craters and basins (NASA)
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    NASA's GRAIL mission took this shot of the surface of the moon, which clearly shows the craters and basins (NASA)

    NASA's GRAIL mission took this shot of the surface of the moon, which clearly shows the craters and basins (NASA)
  • This animation shows the crustal thickness of the Moon. Deep purple indicates a crustal thickness of 1km, while white shows a thickness of 60km. The average thickness of the crust is 34km (NASA)
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    This animation shows the crustal thickness of the Moon. Deep purple indicates a crustal thickness of 1km, while white shows a thickness of 60km. The average thickness of the crust is 34km (NASA)

    This animation shows the crustal thickness of the Moon. Deep purple indicates a crustal thickness of 1km, while white shows a thickness of 60km. The average thickness of the crust is 34km (NASA)
  • This map shows the location of giant dikes. These are solidified magma filled cracks up to 300 miles long. The formation of these dikes tells us that the moon expanded during the first billion years of its history, with its radius increasing by as much as 5 kilometers.
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    This map shows the location of giant dikes. These are solidified magma filled cracks up to 300 miles long. The formation of these dikes tells us that the moon expanded during the first billion years of its history, with its radius increasing by as much as 5 kilometers.

    This map shows the location of giant dikes. These are solidified magma filled cracks up to 300 miles long. The formation of these dikes tells us that the moon expanded during the first billion years of its history, with its radius increasing by as much as 5 kilometers.
  • This moon map shows the gravity gradients calculated by NASA's GRAIL mission. Red and blue correspond to stronger gravity gradients (NASA)
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    This moon map shows the gravity gradients calculated by NASA's GRAIL mission. Red and blue correspond to stronger gravity gradients (NASA)

    This moon map shows the gravity gradients calculated by NASA's GRAIL mission. Red and blue correspond to stronger gravity gradients (NASA)
  • GRAIL's moon view shows the irregular surface of the moon which has been battered by collisions during its formative early years (NASA)
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    GRAIL's moon view shows the irregular surface of the moon which has been battered by collisions during its formative early years (NASA)

    GRAIL's moon view shows the irregular surface of the moon which has been battered by collisions during its formative early years (NASA)
  • This graphic depicts the lunar highlands. Solid circles correspond to impact basins - showing clearly the impact of space rocks on the moon in its infancy (NASA)
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    This graphic depicts the lunar highlands. Solid circles correspond to impact basins - showing clearly the impact of space rocks on the moon in its infancy (NASA)

    This graphic depicts the lunar highlands. Solid circles correspond to impact basins - showing clearly the impact of space rocks on the moon in its infancy (NASA)
  • The mission revealed a linear gravity anomaly. The anomaly is truncated by the basin, indicating that it is older than the basin and was partially destroyed by the impact (NASA)
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    The mission revealed a linear gravity anomaly. The anomaly is truncated by the basin, indicating that it is older than the basin and was partially destroyed by the impact (NASA)

    The mission revealed a linear gravity anomaly. The anomaly is truncated by the basin, indicating that it is older than the basin and was partially destroyed by the impact (NASA)
This image shows the variations in the lunar gravity field. Red corresponds to mass excesses and blue corresponds to mass deficiencies, showing the height and depth of the moon's surface (NASA)
NASA's GRAIL mission took this shot of the surface of the moon, which clearly shows the craters and basins (NASA)
This animation shows the crustal thickness of the Moon. Deep purple indicates a crustal thickness of 1km, while white shows a thickness of 60km. The average thickness of the crust is 34km (NASA)
This map shows the location of giant dikes. These are solidified magma filled cracks up to 300 miles long. The formation of these dikes tells us that the moon expanded during the first billion years of its history, with its radius increasing by as much as 5 kilometers.
This moon map shows the gravity gradients calculated by NASA's GRAIL mission. Red and blue correspond to stronger gravity gradients (NASA)
GRAIL's moon view shows the irregular surface of the moon which has been battered by collisions during its formative early years (NASA)
This graphic depicts the lunar highlands. Solid circles correspond to impact basins - showing clearly the impact of space rocks on the moon in its infancy (NASA)
The mission revealed a linear gravity anomaly. The anomaly is truncated by the basin, indicating that it is older than the basin and was partially destroyed by the impact (NASA)

Pictures released from NASA's GRAIL mission show how the Moon has been shaped by bombardments of space rocks over billions of years. NASA spacecraft Ebb and Flow orbited the moon 35 miles above the surface, allowing the spacecraft to measure deep into the moon from detailed gravity mapping. The battered interior just below the Moon's surface shows how similar planets, including Earth, could also have suffered from impact. The mission has also found the Moon's crust to be thinner than previously thought, at only 25 miles thick.