Mysterious 'Gruithuisen Domes' on the Moon Found to Be a Result of Volcanic Activity, Water

A decade after the last moon mission, NASA announced in 2017 that the Artemis program would be developed. Up to this date, scientists are working together to equip better solutions for the tools and vessels that would take humans back to the lunar surface.

Alongside our return to the moon, the Artemis program aims to be a gateway to other space projects in the future. If successful, the mission would establish our presence in the small lunar world, and scientific explorations would be easier than ever.

Domes on Lunar Surface

NASA plans to carry out simultaneous missions to both the planet Mars and the moon. One of the studies that experts would focus on is discovering what lies beneath the bizarre terrain on the lunar surface.

These anomalies are known as Gruithuisen Domes. Discovered in the 1800s by Franz von Gruithuisen, these features are said to contain answers regarding the past life that existed on the lunar surface. Theories on the domes add to investigations of the few things we know about the moon's origins.

The existence of the Gruithuisen Domes bothers scientists up to this date that even NASA eventually announced plans to visit this place. Experts say that apart from being a mysterious cluster of lunar regolith, the domes hold a more significant detail about the moon.

These domes are dubbed geologic enigmas. Many studies in the past discovered that these elevated structures contain materials that are distinct from the surrounding terrains. The bloated surfaces are composed mostly of silica-rich magma instead of the common basaltic magma we know.

NASA to Reveal Secrets of Gruithuisen Domes

Basaltic lava normally moves with a thin and runny appearance, while silica lava is thicker and slow in flow. Theories suggest that the domes were made from the latter and created unusual surfaces.

Scientists' attention is the process that makes Gruithuisen Domes exist. According to experts, silica-based magma could not form the domes without the help of water and plate tectonics.

This makes things odd, as there is no water or tectonic movement on the moon. The idea motivates modern-day astronomers to seek possible reasons why the required ingredients disappeared.

To see through the Gruithuisen Domes, the upcoming Artemis program will include a probe called the Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer or Lunar-VISE, which will specialize in observations over mysterious terrains.

The instruments aboard the probe are slated to launch by 2025. NASA said the investigation would involve a mobile rover that could climb and collect samples from the dome.

The process will take up to ten days before the specimens are returned to Earth for analysis. This mission will serve as the first-ever comprehensive study of the Gruithuisen Domes after they were discovered two centuries ago.

The instruments would be managed under the Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) program in partnership with the University of Central Florida scholars.

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