"The Moon's Ancient Transformation: Unveiling the Inside-Out Mystery"

Over 4.2 billion years ago, the moon underwent a process that turned it inside out, leading to the formation of its familiar surface. Scientists from the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory propose that the moon formed rapidly, leaving it entirely covered with a hot magma ocean at first. As this ocean cooled and hardened, it would have formed the outer layers of the moon, including its mantle and crust. The team's research, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, suggests that the moon's earliest history is written below the surface, and future missions, such as NASA's Artemis III mission, could provide further insights into the moon's evolution.
- What happened when the moon 'turned itself inside out' billions of years ago? Space.com
- Vestiges of a lunar ilmenite layer following mantle overturn revealed by gravity data Nature.com
- Finally, an Explanation for the Moon's Radically Different Hemispheres Universe Today
- Whoa the Moon probably turned itself inside out 4 billion years ago Quartz
- How the moon turned itself inside out University of Arizona News
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