Moonquakes, not meteorites, dislodged Apollo 17 boulders, study finds
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Researchers concluded that moonquakes from a still-active fault shook boulders loose in the Taurus-Littrow valley, where Apollo 17 landed in 1972. The study, published July 30, 2025, used cosmic-ray exposure ages and seismic simulations to link four sampled boulder falls and a landslide to the Lee-Lincoln thrust fault.
The Apollo 17 Site
The lunar module Challenger landed in Taurus-Littrow on December 11, 1972. The site offered access to dark volcanic material on the valley floor and older highland rock on the surrounding massifs. The crew spent over three days on the surface and completed three long traverses in the lunar rover. A low, sinuous step called the Lee-Lincoln scarp cuts across the valley floor roughly six kilometers west of the landing point.
The Fault Mechanism
The Moon has no moving tectonic plates but still develops faults as its interior loses heat and contracts. Earth's gravity adds changing tidal stress. The brittle crust responds by cracking and slipping, leaving scarps that can extend for kilometers. The Lee-Lincoln thrust fault is considered potentially active because it is geologically young and the stress that formed it continues.
The Evidence
Boulder tracks run down both North and South massifs. A broad patch of bright material called the light mantle spreads from South Massif across the valley floor and the Lee-Lincoln scarp. Apollo 17 brought pieces of four fallen boulders back to Earth. Thomas Watters and Nicholas Schmerr combined cosmic-ray exposure ages with measurements of boulder size, slope stability, and simulated seismic waves to reconstruct ancient moonquakes.
What's Next
The Lee-Lincoln fault may still produce moonquakes, but no motion has been measured there in the past fifty years. Future lunar seismometers, such as those planned for Artemis missions, could confirm whether the fault remains active today.
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Moonquakes, not meteorites, dislodged Apollo 17 boulders, study finds
