Astronauts Capture Earth’s Moon‑Like Anorthosite Massif in Madagascar

Astronauts capture Earth’s moon‑like anorthosite massif in Madagascar, offering a terrestrial analog for lunar crust studies. On August 28, 2026, an Expedition 75 crew member photographed the Saririaky anorthosite from the International Space Station. The 100‑square‑kilometer outcrop, formed over 600 million years ago during Precambrian tectonics, lies within a ductile shear zone that recorded the collision of Gondwana’s proto‑continents. Its composition matches lunar highland rocks, providing a valuable reference for scientists who study the Moon’s ancient magma ocean. The image, taken with a Nikon Z9 and released by NASA’s Earth Observations Facility, will aid research into planetary crust formation and help contextualize Apollo samples.