A newly published study notes that the moon is “rusting”, experts fear the discovery.
Research published in Science Advances has noted that the water found on the moon may be the result of corrosion, but it is shocking given the lack of oxygen and water on the Earth’s space satellite.
“It’s very surprising,” said Shuai Lee of the University of Hawaii, the study’s lead author, in a statement. “The moon is a terrible environment for hematite to form.”
In this combined image of the Moon Mineral Gygi Mapper (M3) aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Chandrayaan-1 orbiter, blue areas, water is concentrated at the moon’s poles. Coming to the spectrum of rocks there, the researcher found signs of hematite, a form of rust. Credit: ISRO / NASA / JPL-Caltech / Brown University / USGS
Large lava tubes on Mars and the moon could be for life, get researchers
The statement added that Lee was looking at data from the JPL Moon Mineral Gy Gi Mapper when the researcher discovered the device “spectra – or light reflected away from the surface – which revealed that the moon’s poles have a completely different composition than the rest.”
The polar surface showed spectra that matched the mineral hematite (Fe 2 O 3), according to the abstract of that study.
“Although oxidizing processes have been predicted to work on the lunar surface and form ferric iron-bearing minerals, the obscure discovery of ferric minerals in very low positions on the moon remains elusive,” the researchers wrote in the study’s abstract. “Our analysis of lunar mineral gy gi mapper data shows that hematite, a ferric mineral, is present at lat latitudes on the moon, mostly associated with the east- and equatorial mass sides, and is more prevalent in the near part than the farside.”
Rust, also known as iron oxide, gives Mars its red color.
This image, based on data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, shows the face of the moon we see from Earth.
(Credits: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State University)
Abigail Freeman, a planetary geologist at NASA JPL, added, “At first I didn’t believe it completely. It shouldn’t be based on conditions on the moon.” “But when we find water on the moon, people are speculating that if we realize that if water reacts with rocks, we may have a larger number of minerals than we realize.”
Giving oxygen to the moon and not the sun’s solar wind delivering hydrogen to the atmosphere – which should act as a “reducer” to prevent oxidation – scientists are confused where corrosion occurs. However, they believe that thanks to the Earth’s magnetic field that the Moon has a “low amount of oxygen”, it could fly out of the Earth.
The hematite that was found is not close to the ice of water discovered so far on the moon, adding another level of complexity to the findings. Scientists have suggested that lunar dust particles can release water molecules into contact with hematite, but more research is needed to see if this is true.
“It may be that the effect of a few pieces of water and dust particles allows the iron to corrode in this body,” Fremen said.
“This discovery will reshape our knowledge of the Moon’s polar regions,” Lee added in another statement. “Earth must have played an important role in the evolution of the lunar surface.”
Moon is a very young person who initially believes, a new study says
The lunar age has been a source of attraction for humanity, and since the Apollo space mission in the mid-20th century, humanity’s knowledge of our space satellite has increased significantly.
Scientists have recently learned that the moon loses water when meteorites break its surface, according to a study published in March 2019.
NASA’s Artemis mission has also revealed that due to the Moon’s weak magnetic field, the Sun’s wind greatly affects the Moon’s surface and exposes it to radiation from the Sun.
A separate study published in August August 2019 suggested that the Moon is 100 million years older than previously thought, based on an analysis of lunar rocks taken by Apollo astronauts based on their findings.
A study published in January 2019 suggests that a 1.1-billion-year-old part of the Earth has been found and excavated on the moon by Apollo astronauts.
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