The moon is shrinking: radius fell 148 feet over 400–800 million years

Astronomers led by Smithsonian planetary geologist Thomas Watters used 17 years of NASA LROC imagery to measure the moon's contraction. Its radius has shrunk nearly 148 feet over the last 400–800 million years — about 2.4 to 4.3 inches per million years. Researchers counted over 10,000 young faults, meaning moonquakes can strike anywhere on the surface.

• Moon's radius shrank nearly 148 feet over 400–800 million years
• Contraction rate is 2.4–4.3 inches per million years, or 0.1 micrometer a year
• Over 10,000 young faults identified in LROC images
• Faults cluster in thinner crust, a factor for NASA's lunar base plans