Geologists have discovered evidence that suggests the Moon had active volcanoes more recently than thought possible.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite found strong evidence that volcanic activity on the Moon gradually slowed down instead of abruptly halting a billion years ago.

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Data suggests the interior of the Moon is most probably not at the cold temperature scientists had anticipated.

Some of the unique rock deposit evidence seen by LRO could be as young as 100 million years. Using the Earth as context, 100 million years ago, dinosaurs still roamed the world. Other lunar deposits might even be younger, just 50 million years old.

"This finding is the kind of science that is literally going to make geologists rewrite the textbooks about the moon," said John Keller, LRO project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.

Researchers inferred the recent volcanic activity of the Moon from rough and blocky rock deposits (referred to as irregular mare patches) next to a combination of smooth, rounded, shallow mounds.

On July 30, 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts took a photo of Ina, a depression in the crater, Lacus Felicitatis. Scientists at the time held the opinion that Ina was the result of a gas eruption 10 million years ago.

Scientists believed Ina was a unique anomaly until researchers from the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster in Germany and Arizona State University started viewing similar parts of the Moon in high-resolution images taken by the LRO's two Narrow Angle Cameras. A total of 70 irregular mare patches were found on the near side of the Moon.

A number of the rocky deposits strongly suggest the last string of volcanoes on the Moon were not spontaneous accidents, but significant occurrences in the geological history of the Moon.

Tagsmoon, Moon volcano, Volcano, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, Ina