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Station 04 > Goddard Initiatives
Missing: Record of Earth's Early History
MISSING: RECORD OF EARTH'S EARLY HISTORY
After the Moon-forming impact, bombardment continued for the next billion years. Over time, these cosmic impacts became less frequent, allowing the planet to cool and form a solid crust. However, geological activities and erosion by water and weather erased Earth's record of this early period. How do scientists learn about the events of this period? Our Moon lacks an atmosphere and plate tectonics, so it preserves a record of impacts experienced during the first one billion years and later periods. That is one reason why we explore the Moon: it holds the key to understanding early Solar System and Earth history. |