Solid, Dense, Real: What’s really hiding inside the Moon

Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh

Iron Heart

After decades of debate, scientists just confirmed the Moon has a solid inner core—and it’s dense, heavy, and nearly identical to Earth’s iron core.

Not Hollow

Forget the hollow Moon conspiracies. At its center lies a dense, iron-rich sphere—258 kilometers wide—that rewrites our lunar understanding.

Moonquake Clues

Seismic whispers from Apollo’s old instruments weren’t enough. So scientists turned to laser beams and gravity shifts to map the Moon from Earth—with stunning results.

Core Copy

Earth isn’t the only one with a layered core. The Moon now joins the club: a liquid shell wrapped around a solid iron center—just on a much smaller scale.

Tidal Tells

By tracking how the Moon wobbles and flexes under Earth’s gravitational grip, scientists unlocked its inner secrets—without ever drilling a hole.

Mantle Mystery

Their models also revealed a dramatic churn inside the lunar mantle—heavier elements sinking, lighter ones rising—a celestial stir-fry with volcanic implications.

Magnetic Past

That ancient lunar magnetic field? This solid core could explain why it once rivaled Earth’s—before mysteriously vanishing 3.2 billion years ago.

Proof Decades Later

NASA saw hints of a solid core in 2011. But this new study—using space lasers, seismic memory, and deep simulations—finally makes it official.

Moon 2.0

As space agencies eye a return to the Moon, this discovery reshapes what we thought we knew—and could help guide where future astronauts dig next.