Anomaly detected under the Moon's South Pole-Aitken basin

A mysterious large mass of material has been discovered beneath the largest crater in our solar system—the Moon's South Pole-Aitken basin—and may contain metal from the asteroid that crashed into the Moon and formed the crater, according to a Baylor University study.

Mass anomaly detected under the moon's largest crater

The largest preserved crater in the solar system is on the moon's far side and cannot be seen from Earth. Hundreds of miles underneath this basin scientists have discovered a mass equal to the weight of "a pile of metal five times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii".

The researchers found the anomaly by analyzing data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory and topography data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Here is the paper:
Deep structure of the lunar South Pole-Aitken basin

Abstract

The South Pole‐Aitken basin is a gigantic impact structure on the far side of the Moon, with an inner rim extending approximately 2,000 km in the long axis dimension. The structure and history of this basin are illuminated by gravity and topography data, which constrain the subsurface distribution of mass. These data point to the existence of a large excess of mass in the Moon's mantle under the South Pole‐Aitken basin.

This anomaly has a minimum mass of 2.18 × 1018 kg and likely extends to depths of more than 300 km. Plausible sources for this anomaly include metal from the core of a differentiated impactor or oxides from the last stage of magma ocean crystallization. Although the basin‐forming impact event likely excavated the vast majority of the preexisting crust, the present‐day crust of the basin interior is at least 16 km thick in undisturbed regions.

Exciting find. Perhaps that metal is something worth setting up mining operations on the moon.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
Exciting find. Perhaps that metal is something worth setting up mining operations on the moon.

Hundreds of miles beneath the surface.

It is more likely that they are interested in this as Evidence to help explain the formation of the earth and moon. It mentions that one possibility is that this mass of material could be part of a core from another planet. The article mentions that one possibility is that this mass of material could be part of a core from another planet. Possibly an impactor. Several models of the origins of the earth include the possibility of a wayward planet which impacted the earth, thus breaking it apart, causing The tectonic plates and also forming the moon.

a reply to: IAMTAT

Just think if was something like gold, silver or platinum! Water has also been found in that area, so a mining base could be possible.

originally posted by: Woodcarver

originally posted by: IAMTAT
Exciting find. Perhaps that metal is something worth setting up mining operations on the moon.

Hundreds of miles beneath the surface.

It is more likely that they are interested in this as Evidence to help explain the formation of the earth and moon. It mentions that one possibility is that this mass of material could be part of a core from another planet. The article mentions that one possibility is that this mass of material could be part of a core from another planet. Possibly an impactor. Several models of the origins of the earth include the possibility of a wayward planet which impacted the earth, thus breaking it apart, causing The tectonic plates and also forming the moon.

Science and industry could work together. I am sure the scientists would love to have a base there to study the origin of the metal as the miners tunnel down and bring it to the surface.

It would be hard to get that deep down, but on the moon it may be possible.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Is it monolith-shaped?

"Oh my God, it's full of Stars"

originally posted by: LookingAtMars
a reply to: IAMTAT

Just think if was something like gold, silver or platinum! Water has also been found in that area, so a mining base could be possible.

If the metal is something exotic, rare, & in abundance there...we'll mine the s#*t out of it.
Great way to restart the space race.

originally posted by: LookingAtMars
a reply to: IAMTAT

Just think if was something like gold, silver or platinum! Water has also been found in that area, so a mining base could be possible.

The deepest mine on earth is 2.5 miles deep. This mass is hundreds of miles beneath the surface.

So the Moon is an alien spaceship after all?

originally posted by: Woodcarver

originally posted by: LookingAtMars
a reply to: IAMTAT

Just think if was something like gold, silver or platinum! Water has also been found in that area, so a mining base could be possible.

The deepest mine on earth is 2.5 miles deep. This mass is hundreds of miles beneath the surface.

The core may be very deep from the impact...but there could be plenty of large fragmentary deposits at much shallower levels.

originally posted by: IAMTAT

originally posted by: LookingAtMars
a reply to: IAMTAT

Just think if was something like gold, silver or platinum! Water has also been found in that area, so a mining base could be possible.

If the metal is something exotic, rare, & in abundance there...we'll mine the s#*t out of it.
Great way to restart the space race.

Just tell everyone it is Unobtainium and there are no native species...

To the OP... great find! Thank you for posting it!

So this is the core from the other planet that collide with earth to form the moon?

Tiamat and Marduk?

originally posted by: Woodcarver

originally posted by: LookingAtMars
a reply to: IAMTAT

The deepest mine on earth is 2.5 miles deep. This mass is hundreds of miles beneath the surface.

On Earth you have to fight with gravity. Gravity is one of the main challenges when mining. I can envision a bot and conveyor belt like device lifting hundreds of miles of ground a year

Is this mass different from the rest of the lunar mascons?
Mascons are a well documented phenomena, I believe the first few Ranger probes to the moon crashed because of them until NASA mapped the gravitic perturbations.

originally posted by: Zeropinion
Is this mass different from the rest of the lunar mascons?
Mascons are a well documented phenomena, I believe the first few Ranger probes to the moon crashed because of them until NASA mapped the gravitic perturbations.

What?

originally posted by: Woodcarver

originally posted by: LookingAtMars
a reply to: IAMTAT

Just think if was something like gold, silver or platinum! Water has also been found in that area, so a mining base could be possible.

The deepest mine on earth is 2.5 miles deep. This mass is hundreds of miles beneath the surface.

That though is in part due to heat, the deeper you go on earth, the hotter it gets. Might not be that way on the moon.
Digging a hole can be as endless as the conditions allow.

originally posted by: IAMTAT

originally posted by: LookingAtMars
a reply to: IAMTAT

Just think if was something like gold, silver or platinum! Water has also been found in that area, so a mining base could be possible.

If the metal is something exotic, rare, & in abundance there...we'll mine the s#*t out of it.
Great way to restart the space race.

Just visited Kennedy Space Center the other day. In was just thinking about that very thing.

When space travel becomes a tool of the profitable industry of space mining we will takeoff like never before.

originally posted by: Zeropinion
Is this mass different from the rest of the lunar mascons?
Mascons are a well documented phenomena, I believe the first few Ranger probes to the moon crashed because of them until NASA mapped the gravitic perturbations.

Different" In what way do you mean? A mascon is by definition a greater concentration of mass in a given area so all meet that definition. If you mean the size, they are all different sizes. If they are from impacts as one hypothesis states, perhaps the impactors had different sizes and or compositions.

It's on the far side of the moon so the impact area is not visible from earth, but here's a NASA graphic of the mascons that face the earth, all apparently associated with the lunar maria and possibly impacts (the red colored areas are mass concentrations or mascons.

Bizarre Lunar Orbits


That article talks about how indeed the mascons caused some lunar sub-satellites to crash as you suggested, so they are fairly significant anomalies.

originally posted by: caterpillage
That though is in part due to heat, the deeper you go on earth, the hotter it gets. Might not be that way on the moon.
Digging a hole can be as endless as the conditions allow.

Good point.

But I don't think it would make sense to mine most things on or in the moon to bring back to Earth. The He3 has been cited as a possible exception but that's right at the surface where it's easily accessible, but we still have no reactors to use that energy source so there's no point in mining it until we do.

The economics of digging for metals to bring back to earth doesn't seem to make any sense.
However if building a moon base, then it might make more sense to mine some things on the moon for construction on the moon.

I don't think we should start mining a big rock that might alter it's orbit by doing so. It should be evaluated very well before starting to possibly alter it's electromagnetic properties. People screw with this planet too much already, so they want to start messing with a rock hanging in orbit above our head.

a reply to: rickymouse

I concur