116 Lunar Science and Exploration in the Artemis Era (Posters)

Current and anticipated science return in the areas of geology, composition, and interior of the Moon from current lunar-focused studies and upcoming payloads expected to land on the Moon in the next decade.

Monday, 20 October 2025
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, Hall 1

Ground & Strong Motion Estimation for the Largest Recorded Moonquake and Marsquake Events

Paper number: 116-4
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

Most studies based on Apollo and InSight seismic recordings either investigate the Moon’s or Mars' interior or seismicity distribution to better understand the planets' geological evolution, consistent with the mission objectives. However, extraterrestrial colonization is becoming increasingly viable, and industries and future missions are seriously considering it.  We need infrastructure to make this happen, supporting human habitation and in-situ exploration. One of the major hazards to be experienced by this infrastructure is the ground motion from Marsquakes and Moonquakes. To address this, we have formulated two related hypotheses to generate useful ground & strong motion information: 1) recently recorded Marsquakes and newly achieved Moonquake recordings better model ground motion, and the resulting strong motion & 2) ground and strong motion of the largest recorded events have characteristic information in the context of major geologic regions. The observed peak ground acceleration (PGA) at the station and the predicted PGA at the source vary widely for Moonquake short and long-period recordings of the same event. However, this PGA estimation does not vary for different Marsquake recordings of the same event. Our numerical modeling shows that a simple dome-shaped 3D-printed structure is more likely to experience resonance on the Moon than on Mars. Pseudo Spectral Acceleration (PSA) remains similar for long-period and short-period recording of Moonquakes, whereas the PSA behaves differently for 20Hz and 100Hz Marsquake recording. Vertical displacements of the 3D-printed dome structure vary widely for Moonquake recordings but remain identical for Marsquake 20Hz and 100Hz recordings. Region-wise, characteristic ground & strong motion assessments require further verification. Generally, we observed that highland and boundary Moonquakes and Marsquakes produce stronger PGA values compared to lowlands, which is also supported by higher stress drops & depth average attenuation.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-414824

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