Project description
Mapping the Moon’s shaken ground
When space rocks strike airless worlds such as the Moon, some portion of impact energy travels through the ground as seismic waves. This shaking can loosen regolith, altering its density and thermal properties. Recently disturbed regions may appear from orbit as thermal anomalies called lunar cold spots, but observations cannot directly show subsurface changes. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SEISMOR project will combine vacuum laboratory experiments with simulations of regolith shaking and seismic-wave propagation. It will determine how decompaction depends on gravity, material properties and shaking conditions. By connecting surface changes to seismic response, the project may help constrain the impacts that created lunar cold spots and improve understanding of how impacts reshape the Moon and other airless celestial bodies.
Objective
Surface shaking on airless worlds reorganizes regolith, producing “cold spots” around fresh lunar craters. Remote sensing alone cannot resolve how impact-induced seismic loading drives depth-dependent dilation. This project will establish a predictive, experimentally validated link from impact-driven seismic boundary conditions to depth-resolved bulk-density change, yielding the first forward cold spot formation-mechanism law and enabling future inversion to impact energy/angle and resource targeting. SEISMOR couples continuum wave-propagation models that set depth-dependent boundary conditions with a standardized, open-source DEM workflow and a focused vacuum benchtop validation campaign. The project generates a broadly sampled synthetic catalogue across realistic material and gravity regimes, then extracts an uncertainty-aware macroscopic relation via Bayesian filtering alongside a complementary tree-based model, validated against controlled vacuum experiments. Outcomes include an open-source analysis tool implementing the pipeline, a public synthetic dataset with clear metadata, and a concise ISRU policy brief on blast loading and surface interactions. In the near term, the framework will be applied to representative case studies to quantify uncertainty and test assumptions. By providing a transparent bridge from seismic boundary conditions to density change, SEISMOR delivers a vacuum-validated, gravity-scalable basis to interpret lunar cold spots, inform early-stage surface-science and mission-concept choices, and strengthen Europe’s leadership in planetary science.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
20133 Milano
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.