  The cause for the difference in crustal thickness between the far and near
sides of the moon has been considered an open problem in astronomy since 1959
when the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 sent back the first images of the lunar
farside. The problem is referred to as the lunar farside highlands problem. In
this article, the author deduces the center of mass shift of the moon from its
geometrical center and the difference in crustal thickness between the far and
near lunar sides necessary to explain it. Although there have been other
theories proposed to explain these phenomena, this theory explains them as
arising naturally from the effects on lunar material due to the earth's
external gravity force and the moon's synchronous rotation and revolution. The
author's mathematical model results in a calculated value of 1.6 km for the
center of mass shift and a crustal thickness difference of 16 km. The author's
deduced values of center of mass shift and crustal thickness difference are
close to within about 5 to 10% of their accepted values. One unexpected and
deducible result of the author's theory is that the center of mass shift of the
moon is decreasing towards moon center under lunar recession at the current
rate of about 1.6 x 10-4 mm/yr.
