Abigail Fraeman, co-author of the study and an Earth and Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL). It shouldn’t exist based on the conditions present on the Moon,” said Dr. “The Moon is a terrible environment for hematite to form in.” Hematite needs the opposite: an oxidizer to remove electrons. The solar wind routinely bombards the Moon with hydrogen, which actually makes it harder for hematite to form because hydrogen adds electrons to the material it interacts with. Turns out, Earth is to blame - with a little help from the Sun. The Moon isn't supposed to have liquid water, so how can it be rusting? /FEMf3ZRxdpĭigging through the spectral data returned by Chandrayaan-1 a decade ago, Shuai Li, Researcher at the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the University of Hawaii saw a signature that closely matched hematite.īut how could rust have possibly formed when the needed ingredients are not present? Rust forms when iron is exposed to oxygen and water. But new research using Chandrayaan-1 findings returned a surprise: rust far from those polar water deposits.Ī researcher recently found a form of iron oxide, or rust, on the Moon. The discovery proved a long-held theory about water ice and its relationship to the Moon. Scientists pouring over data obtained by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft discovered telltale, if not surprising, signatures that clearly showed the presence of hematite, a common iron oxide (or rust), on the lunar surface.Ĭhandrayaan-1 - India’s first lunar mission which ceased operating on 22 October 2009 after a nearly three year mission - was a highly successful undertaking that discovered water ice in the permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles. On Mars, the planet’s past abundance of water and concentration of atmospheric oxygen long lost to space by the solar wind combined with iron in its surface to give the planet its iconic red color.īut how can rust form far from water ice deposits on a barren oasis devoid of oxygen? On Earth, when water and oxygen interact with iron, rust forms. The baffling discovery led scientists on an intriguing search for the answer to how this seemingly impossible formation was happening on the oxygen-less Moon away from the satellite’s polar water deposits. New research from India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission shows the Moon is rusting. Humanity’s fleet of robotic explorers peppered throughout the solar system continue to reveal new and exciting pieces of information regarding other members of the Sun’s stellar family.
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