NASA has announced that they will study the moon‘s mysterious domes for the first time. NASA’s Artemis mission has the chief goals of sending astronauts to establish the first long-term presence on the moon and learning what is necessary to send the first astronauts to Mars.
One of its many scientific mission will see the agency send the Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer (Lunar-VISE) and the Lunar Explorer Instrument for space biology Applications (LEIA) to the Moon in order to explore the mysterious Gruithuisen Domes, geological features that have puzzled scientists for years.
“The two selected studies will address important scientific questions related to the Moon” Joel Kearns, the deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in the press release. “The first will study geologic processes of early planetary bodies that are preserved on the Moon by investigating a rare form of lunar volcanism. The second will study the effects of the Moon’s low gravity and radiation environment on yeast, a model organism used to understand DNA damage response and repair.”
“The Gruithuisen Domes are a geologic enigma. Based on early telescopic and spacecraft observations, these domes have long been suspected to be formed by a magma rich in silica, similar in composition to granite. Observations from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) confirmed that the Gruithuisen Domes are distinct from the surrounding terrain, which is covered by ancient hardened basaltic lava flows; states the NASA report.”
“The real mystery is how such silicic magmas could form on the Moon. On Earth, silicic volcanoes typically form in the presence of two ingredients-water and plate tectonics. But without these key ingredients on the Moon, scientists are left to wonder: How did the Gruithuisen domes form?
