Thermal asymmetry in the Moon’s mantle inferred from monthly tidal response

R. S. Park (), A. Berne, A. S. Konopliv, J. T. Keane, I. Matsuyama, F. Nimmo, M. Rovira-Navarro, M. P. Panning, M. Simons, D. J. Stevenson and R. C. Weber
Additional contact information
R. S. Park: California Institute of Technology
A. Berne: California Institute of Technology
A. S. Konopliv: California Institute of Technology
J. T. Keane: California Institute of Technology
I. Matsuyama: University of Arizona
F. Nimmo: University of California
M. Rovira-Navarro: Delft University of Technology
M. P. Panning: California Institute of Technology
M. Simons: California Institute of Technology
D. J. Stevenson: California Institute of Technology
R. C. Weber: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

Nature, 2025, vol. 641, issue 8065, 1188-1192

Abstract: Abstract The Moon undergoes periodic tidal forcing due to its eccentric and oblique orbit around the Earth1. The response to this tidal interaction drives temporal changes in the lunar gravity field and is sensitive to the satellite’s internal structure2–4. We use data from the NASA GRAIL spacecraft5–9 to recover the time-varying lunar gravity field, including a degree-3 gravitational tidal Love number, k3. Here, we report our estimated value of k3 = 0.0163 ± 0.0007, which is about 72% higher than that expected for a spherically symmetric moon10. Such a large k3 can be explained if the elastic shear modulus of the mantle varies by about 2–3% between the nearside and farside4, providing an observational demonstration of lateral heterogeneities in the deep lunar interior. This asymmetric structure suggests preservation of a predominantly thermal anomaly of roughly 100–200 K in the nearside mantle that formed surface mare regions 3–4 billion years ago11 and could influence the spatial distribution of deep moonquakes12.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08949-5

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