The Moon’s craggy features may mask a younger face, a study has shown.

US scientists analysed ancient samples of lunar crust derived from the molten rock that gave birth to the moon.

Their research dates the samples at 4.36 billion years – some 200 million years younger than earlier estimates.

The age is similar to those obtained for the oldest minerals on earth, zircons from western Australia.

This suggests that the oldest crusts on both the earth and moon formed at around the same time.

The new analysis of ferroan anorthosite moonrock samples is published in the journal Nature.

Most scientists believe the moon was created by a giant impact between a large planet-sized object and the early earth.

The energy of the collision ejected melted material into space, which solidified to form the Moon.

Richard Carlson, from the Carnegie Institution in Washington DC, said: “The extraordinary young age of this lunar sample either means that the moon solidified significantly later than previous estimates, or that we need to change our entire understanding of the Moon’s geochemical history.”