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# Landslide on the Moon
- URL: https://jatan.space/landslide-on-the-moon/
- Published: 2018-12-03T21:42:51.000Z
- Updated: 2024-02-21T09:16:04.000Z
- Description: An Apollo 17 sample collection story.
- Author: Jatan Mehta

Seen here is a broad mountain, the South Massif, that borders the Taurus Littrow Valley where the Apollo 17 astronauts landed.

![](https://jatan.space/content/images/2024/02/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fda0e1b96-427f-4fc6-bcff-e97299cfce53_852x676-jpeg-1.jpg)

The 7 kilometers wide base and 2.3 kilometers tall South Massif mountain. [Credit: NAS LRO](http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/1005)

One of the objectives of Apollo 17 was to sample the landslide material (having high reflectance). The way this landslide formed is mind boggling. Some ejected material (ejecta) from the impact that created the [Tycho crater](https://jatan.space/tycho-crater-mountain/) landed all the way in this region, more than a thousand kilometers away. The shake up caused by these ejecta impacts caused material from the mountain slope to slide down.

![](https://jatan.space/content/images/2024/02/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f72b52fee-bcab-49b9-b2f5-cf0250fb12be_684x568-jpeg.jpg)

Apollo 17 landing site in the Taurus Littrow valley, between the South Massif and the North Massif. [Credit: NASA](http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/613)

Knowing the age of the landslide material would thus give away the age of the Tycho crater. Sampling the landslide material via Apollo 17 determined the age of Tycho to be about 110 million years, a very young age in geological time scales.

Landing in one region enabled us to know about a feature halfway across the Moon! With [NASA announcing return of the U.S. to the Moon's surface](https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-new-partnerships-for-commercial-lunar-payload-delivery-services/) this week, looking forward to exciting science output from the upcoming commercial lunar landers.

[KNOW MORE](http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/1005)

[![13-south-massif-map](https://jatan.space/content/images/2024/02/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f350bb6d7-668e-49c7-bf3f-9d248987a2cc_1098x770-jpeg.jpg)](https://quickmap.lroc.asu.edu/?layers=NrBsFYBoAZIRnpEoAsjZwLpNKG%2BscB2fDbMADlPnNAE5rDgjZWakiE2mAmOuqt3J9%2BjTOKQ9QPRkmBSuiJgGZoPQUuEVVBGhOBw4UbnMNohSQyQvBV0RWSTK4asZIqc3BnTbjOvfsoByni%2BytYE5H4MNurKMrEeCZGWKGyO8hT0YvrxyRhy8Q565KrKMaQAdFAgqmk5pdDK5lU1tk3GkblNQSa1ahWs1Y0%2BrSPF0MNOTfkww7nSsrWgE5U84KWgvWNOqNSTG7udQxvdyhonhU2hO%2B3h%2B-OlRC0FtUTbQ0aNPC9zX9PrB7-dpSIGHEERT6nJ43V62IjHdjwi5I8KDVEUdIY4oqCizXEfDG-LD6NJYhC1UQ2VQ8QkqNT48SbSGIZaw1GgFG8DzkzbolQsLzhHFPRmkn5LYAoWkPZTkaWIyZypDS9mTOhMlXgOlyFDgRlaxWPaZwCoICntaDs%2BnQYmNJpC6BOrz63nuLZedQQT1ZO3u61aTnoEpIcBGXQWsNoRRMMMs2NwLnkMP85M8VZENMyBxTTKgeP2g2WxEk8RAA&extent=29.235920802561708%2C19.547297518654428%2C32.04510906205429%2C20.97405278793841&proj=16)

[EXPLORE ON A MAP](https://quickmap.lroc.asu.edu/?layers=NrBsFYBoAZIRnpEoAsjZwLpNKG%2BscB2fDbMADlPnNAE5rDgjZWakiE2mAmOuqt3J9%2BjTOKQ9QPRkmBSuiJgGZoPQUuEVVBGhOBw4UbnMNohSQyQvBV0RWSTK4asZIqc3BnTbjOvfsoByni%2BytYE5H4MNurKMrEeCZGWKGyO8hT0YvrxyRhy8Q565KrKMaQAdFAgqmk5pdDK5lU1tk3GkblNQSa1ahWs1Y0%2BrSPF0MNOTfkww7nSsrWgE5U84KWgvWNOqNSTG7udQxvdyhonhU2hO%2B3h%2B-OlRC0FtUTbQ0aNPC9zX9PrB7-dpSIGHEERT6nJ43V62IjHdjwi5I8KDVEUdIY4oqCizXEfDG-LD6NJYhC1UQ2VQ8QkqNT48SbSGIZaw1GgFG8DzkzbolQsLzhHFPRmkn5LYAoWkPZTkaWIyZypDS9mTOhMlXgOlyFDgRlaxWPaZwCoICntaDs%2BnQYmNJpC6BOrz63nuLZedQQT1ZO3u61aTnoEpIcBGXQWsNoRRMMMs2NwLnkMP85M8VZENMyBxTTKgeP2g2WxEk8RAA&extent=29.235920802561708%2C19.547297518654428%2C32.04510906205429%2C20.97405278793841&proj=16)