As Earth and its moon keep moving in their orbit around the sun, they're held in place by a careful balance: the centrifugal force that tries to pull them apart, and the mutual gravitational force that tries to push them together. The moon's gravity has an observable effect on the Earth, with the tides ebbing and flowing according to the moon's presence. As it turns out, the Earth's gravitational force has an effect on the moon, too, even in spite of the latter's dearth of liquid water. Our planet is actually shaping formations of cliffs that form on the moon as the satellite slowly shrinks. The ocean tides on Earth are a well-known consequence of our moon's gravitational pull as it journey's around our planet. But it seems the Earth's own gravitational pull that keeps the moon in orbit is having a far more serious impact on the rocky satellite – it is tearing its surface apart. Nasa scientists have identified more than 3,200 cracks, each several miles long and dozens of feet deep, crisscrossing the moon's surface. Analysis of these faults, which are thought to be a result of the moon shrinking in size as its core cools, has revealed they are forming due to the gravitational tidal forces from Earth.
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