All in all, the moon looks pretty sprightly despite its 4.5 billion years of age. Forget the craterlike pockmarks and freckles — the Earth’s close companion is still pretty enough to inspire songs, poetry, paintings and even the timing of mating seasons within the animal kingdom.
“The moon is of the Earth. I think everyone has an emotional connection, whether they think so or not,” says Amanda Nahm, a program officer in NASA’s Planetary Science Division.
But did the moon always look this picturesque? If humans were around 2 billion years ago, would they have glimpsed the same iconic features?
Not quite, according to Nahm. The lunar surface has seen periods of major change throughout its existence and undergone some heavy makeovers.
The moon was created out of destruction. About 4.5 billion years ago, 30 to 50 million years after our solar system came together, a Mars-sized planet called Theia ...
