Scientists have discovered that wind from Earth is causing the Moon to rust. A team from Macau University of Science and Technology in China made the finding. It provides new insight into the relationship between Earth and the Moon.
Rust, also known as hematite, was first spotted on the Moon in 2020 during India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission. The presence of this iron-rich mineral was puzzling because it usually forms when rocks react with water and oxygen. These two elements are not abundant on the Moon.
Planetary scientist Shuai Li led the 2020 team that made the discovery. He stated that it was “very puzzling” at the time. The lack of oxygen on the Moon led Li and other scientists to speculate that the oxygen might have come from Earth.
They thought it could be from a phenomenon known as “Earth wind.” This occurs when Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon.
Earth wind causing Moon rusting
It blocks solar particles and allows nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen from Earth’s atmosphere to reach the Moon for about five days each month.
These charged particles can embed themselves in the lunar soil. They can cause the chemical reactions needed to create rust. The team from Macau University of Science and Technology confirmed the cause by simulating the scenario in the laboratory.
They fired hydrogen and oxygen ions into iron-rich minerals present on the Moon’s surface. They observed that hematite indeed formed. “Our findings offer a practicable explanation for the formation and distribution of lunar hematite,” the researchers wrote in their study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
The study is titled “Earth wind-driven formation of hematite on the lunar surface.”
“These findings provide valuable insights into the widespread distribution of lunar hematite and indicate a long-term material exchange between Earth and the Moon,” the researchers added. The discovery highlights the complex and dynamic relationship between Earth and its closest celestial neighbor. It shows that even though they are separated by vast distances, the two bodies still interact and influence each other in fascinating ways.
