The hidden face of the Moon surprises us again. A team of scientists from Purdue University (USA) in collaboration with NASA, have discovered a huge crater about 200 kilometers wide, located on the far side of the Moon that has been baptized with the name of " Earhart ” , in honor of Amelia Earhart, the first woman pioneer in the history of aviation who made a solo flight across the Atlantic and who was also part of this university.
It has been at least a century since a discovery of such magnitude was made , which has been possible thanks to the mapping carried out by the Grail spacecraft of the American space agency, since while they were looking for data and evidence of underground structures (lava tubes) they came across with the crater, as explained by experts at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LCSP) in Texas (USA).
The Earhart crater is partially buried under the rubble of the Serenitatis basin, which is believed to be the product of a gigantic impact that occurred approximately 3.9 billion years ago ; hence this impact has rendered the 200-kilometer-wide crater virtually unrecognizable.
“The crater predates the great Serenitatis basin, located in its southern zone. The expelled material Serenitatis covered it and, probably, has caused the destruction of part of the southern rim of the crater and has modified its structure to a great extent, "says Jay Melosh, leader of the study.
