Today the Earth’s Moon is a relatively quiet place, but it wasn’t always that way. The Moon was born in a giant impact, spent its early years as a molten ball of magma, slowly crystallized, turned inside-out, was bombarded by giant impacts, and then had vast swaths of terrain flooded by volcanic eruptions. We will explore the Moon’s earliest history as revealed by data from orbiters, landers and astronauts, and then see how the next wave of exploration by Artemis astronauts will add to the story.

Presented by Dr. Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna
Associate Professor

Associate Professor Jeff Andrews-Hanna researches the processes acting on the surfaces and interiors of the solid-surface planets and moons in our solar system. He is interested in geodynamic, tectonic, magmatic, hydrologic, and climatic processes, at scales ranging from local to global and combines the analysis of gravity, topography, and other remote sensing datasets with numerical modeling. Current research interests include terrestrial planet tectonics, volcanism, impact basins, and hydrology; with projects on the Moon, Mars, Venus, and Pluto.

Dr. Andrews-Hanna was a co-investigator on the NASA Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission (2012-2016), which had the objective of mapping the Moon’s gravitational field. Read about some of Jeff’s research and about how the Moon turned itself inside out.

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Learn more about Dr. Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna.

For more information, visit the LPL Evening Lecture Series page.