Science in a Minute 052119 New Theory on Why The Near and Far Sides of the Moon Look Different

An international team of scientists has a new theory of why the near and far sides of the moon look different from each other. After studying data collected by NASA’s GRAIL mission, the researchers determined that a large object, between 720 and 780 kilometers in diameter struck the near side of the moon early in the solar system’s history. They say the collision blew away material from the near side and buried the far side’s crust under five to ten kilometers of debris.