  Using viscoelastic mass spring model simulations to track heat distribution
inside a tidally perturbed body, we measure the asymmetry of heating in the
crust of a spin synchronous Moon in eccentric orbit about the Earth. With the
Moon within a few Earth radii of the Earth, we find that tidal heating per unit
area in a lunar crustal shell is asymmetric due to the octupole order moment in
the Earth's tidal field and is 10 to 20\% higher on its near side than on its
far side. Tidal heating reduces the crustal basal heat flux and the rate of
magma ocean crystallization. Assuming that the local crustal growth rate
depends on the local basal heat flux and the distribution of tidal heating in
latitude and longitude, a heat conductivity model illustrates that a moderately
asymmetric and growing lunar crust could maintain its asymmetry. Near/far side
asymmetric tidal heating could serve as a trigger for uneven lunar crustal
growth.
