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Scientists have discovered rust on the moon and say that Earth’s oxygen is partially responsible.
The finding comes after analysis of data from the Indian Space Research Organization’s Chandrayaan-1 orbiter.
The light reflected off the surfaces at both poles was found to have the spectral signature of the mineral hematite, more commonly known as oxide.
Hematite, a type of iron oxide, forms when iron is exposed to oxygen and water.
The study’s lead author, Shuai Li of the University of Hawaii, called it “very disconcerting” as “the moon is a terrible environment for hematite to form” because it has no air, no oxygen, and no liquid water.
He contacted scientists at From NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) – The department that built the Chandrayaan-1 Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument.
A data analysis found that the composition of the moon’s poles is very different from the rest. Photo: NASA
JPL scientist Abigail Fraeman said: “At first, I didn’t really believe it. It shouldn’t exist based on the conditions present on the moon.
“But ever since we discovered water on the moon, people have been speculating that there might be a greater variety of minerals than we think if the water had reacted with the rocks.”
Three explanations have been explored.
First, that even though the moon has no atmosphere, it contains trace amounts of oxygen, which travels 239,000 miles from the Earth’s magnetic field.
This explains why more hematite is found on the Earth-facing side of the moon and suggests that our planet may be the driving force for rust.
It’s also possible that oxygen traveled from Earth to the Moon when the two were closer together, as they have been separating for billions of years.
The second reason could be the level of hydrogen present: this is sent to the moon and Earth through the solar winds from the sun.
Hydrogen is a reducing agent, which means that it helps prevent rust and rust.
Oxygen traveling to the moon from Earth could be the cause of oxidation
The Earth’s magnetic field protects the planet from solar winds, it also blocks more than 99% of this activity during periods of the moon’s orbit, particularly when the moon is full.
This means that there is an opportunity during the lunar cycle where rust has the ability to form.
The third explanation suggests that water molecules, found within the moon’s surface, are released when dust particles hit the moon, mixing them with iron.
The heat from this impact can increase the rate of oxidation.
They also suggest that the dust particles themselves may contain water molecules that then mix with the iron.
At specific times, the moon is protected from the solar winds that carry hydrogen, this together with the presence of oxygen could cause a chemical reaction that induces oxidation.
Dr. Fraeman suggested that these reasons could also explain why rust is found in other airless bodies, such as asteroids.
Vivian Sun, a JPL scientist, added: “I think these results indicate that there are more complex chemical processes that occur in our solar system than has been previously recognized.
“We can better understand them by sending future missions to the Moon to test these hypotheses.”
This research has been published in Science Advances.
