Lunar Landslides in the occurring triggered by Moonquakes.

Sept 2025 : Detailed research studies by the Chinese scientists have affirmed the occurrence of active landslides taking place on the moon, primarily triggered by moonquakes. The team asserted that their findings will help to select more stable sites for future lunar bases, as China expands its space exploration ambitions, which include setting up a research station in the lunar south pole region by 2035.

The researchers from Sun Yat‐sen University, Fuzhou University and Shanghai Normal University published their findings in the peer-reviewed National Science Review on September 11. The English-language journal is supervised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“Human civilisation has never been closer to establishing permanent infrastructures on the moon, which will serve as scientific research stations and/or deep-space outposts. While moonquakes were detected during the Apollo missions, conventional geological wisdom posited that lunar endogenic activity had essentially ceased, leaving geological hazard assessments of lunar seismicity largely unexplored”, the researchers have voiced.

The quintessential analysis demonstrated 41 new landslides on the moon formed since 2009. The results were ascertained by comparing 562 pairs of before and after images of 74 sites in the least stable areas on the moon. While around 30% of the new landslides were likely triggered by new impact events, most of them were likely induced by moonquakes from within the rocky celestial body, their analysis found.

“Among known triggers of landslides on the moon, endogenic seismic activity is the most plausible cause for most of the detected new landslides. While sources of endogenic seismic activity on the moon are not completely understood yet, this interpretation aligns with the current thermal state of the moon, that the lunar interior remains active enough to drive endogenic seismic activity”, the researchers explained.

They said the new landslides with “localised occurrences” may pose limited hazards to future surface explorations, though facilities and operations near slopes would be more at risk. Lead author Xiao Zhiyong, a professor at the Planetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory at Sun Yat-sen University in Zhuhai, said the team was glad to see that the landslides were rather small in scale, mostly less than 01 kilometres (3,280 feet) long and less than 100 metres (328 feet) wide.

“It provides reassurance that the landslides we observed are likely to have limited impacts. Still, we should remain cautious because disaster assessments from Earth may not be fully applicable on the moon. Operations close to steep slopes may be threatened more by active landslides”, Xiao said. He added that the findings could support site selection and safety measures for establishing lunar bases and conducting long-term missions led by astronauts.

“Complex terrains are often chosen in scientific explorations for studies. For example, both Apollo missions 15 and 17 landed in valley areas which are prone to landslides, especially near slopes. The findings remind us of the safety considerations during field investigations”.

According to NASA, seismometers deployed by Apollo astronauts on the moon recorded thousands of vibrations from moonquakes between 1969 and 1977. NASA added that a moonquake could last for hours and damage or tip over structures, destabilise launch vehicles or interrupt surface operations.

Xiao said moonquakes generated seismic waves that attenuated, or lost energy, very slowly because the lunar surface was dry with little water. This may make moonquakes more damaging than earthquakes of the same magnitude.

“China’s Chang’e-8 lunar mission will carry a seismometer near the lunar south pole to detect moonquakes”, he said, referring to the probe scheduled for launch around 2029. “Once a moonquake occurs and is detected, scientists can send a satellite to the epicentre to take images and check for new landslides. The before-and-after comparison will then provide proof for a moonquake-induced landslide”.

Study co-author Zhang Wuming, a professor at the School of Geospatial Engineering and Science at Sun Yat-sen University, said the team developed a technique to precisely match high-resolution satellite images of the same locations taken at different times. “We used images with a resolution of less than 01 metre/pixel to compare the before-and-after of the same area”, he said.

“The challenge of achieving precise pixel matching, which is particularly difficult on the moon, was successfully addressed through an image registration method developed by co-author Xiao Zhouxuan under the joint supervision of Professor Xiao Zhiyong and me”, he added.

Team Maverick