Hematite deposits near the Moon’s poles may have formed through Earth's oxygen ions carried by its magnetotail during the full Moon phase ()
For decades now, scientists have been baffled by the presence of rust on the Moon such rust or more accurately speaking, hematite, forms by oxidization a process dependent on oxygen and moisture of the oxygen or water is present on the Moon.
New research released in Geophysical Research Letters proposes that oxygen whose escape from the atmosphere of Earth could have travelled across space to make its way into the polar regions of the Moon. Simulations and laboratory experiments have shown that oxygen ions react with very specific minerals of the Moon particularly bearing iron converting them into hematite (Fe₂O₃). This takes place despite the Moon being under constant bombardment of hydrogen caused by the solar wind from the Sun which typically stops rust by reversing its effects.
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Under these particular conditions like during a full Moon and the Earth's magnetotail channelling oxygen-rich particles mostly directly hit the Moon. According to Xiandi Zeng, a planetary scientist who worked on the research, this rare but extremely brief time frame gives lunar materials a chance to be oxidized.
For five days during a lunar monthly orbit it hugs the Earth’s magnetotail, stopping most of the hydrogen and directing oxygen ions across space towards the Moon at a distance of 384,400 kilometers. The effect of minerals namely ilmenite, troilite, and iron in its metallic form are oxidized into hematite in this exposure while silicate bearing rocks remain unaffected. This process of selective and exact rusting hints at a very deep and active exchange between Earth and its natural satellite.
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Even more interesting is the fact the hematite on the moon may contain the ancient history of Earth's atmospheric evolution, maybe around even 2 billion years past. Since the formation of rust needs some specific atmospheric condition, the lunar hematite could be like a time capsule for the entire oxygenation history of Earth. It often this oxidized material coexists with byproducts similar to water, thus suggesting that even the moisture on the Moon could be the result of this chemical exchange not a foreign import.
As new missions such as India's Chandrayaan-3 and China's Chang'e-7 probe further into the Moon's south pole scientists get closer to decoding the full extent of the Earth-Moon interaction. What once seemed an isolated, airless world now may be a quiet witness to our planet's own hidden past.
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Disclaimer: This article is based on current scientific research and is intended for informational purposes; findings may evolve with future studies.
