Moon dust 'preserving millions of years of history' to provide a giant leap in lunar study

A new study claims that there exists a new way to analyse the chemistry of the moon’s soil using a single grain of dust. According to the study, this new technique can allow us to learn more about conditions on the surface of the moon and the formation of its precious resources like water and helium.

Putting moon soil under a microscope

The study was published in Meteoritics & Planetary Science. Jennika Greer, the study's first author said that the team was researching the rocks from the moon atom by atom. She further added that this allows scientists to understand what the environment is like on the moon better. 

Greer believes that a single grain contains millions of years of history and can tell us more about the conditions on the surface of the moon than astronauts who have walked on the moon.

The team only requires one single grain of soil to conduct its experiments and tests. That single grain of soil helped Greer and her team identify products of space weathering, pure iron, water and helium.

The technique that Greer's team used is called atom probe tomography. The process is used by scientists who work on industrial processes like making steel and nanowires.

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According to Greer, studying soil from the moon's surface gives scientists important insight into an important force within our solar system: space weathering. Space is a harsh environment filled with tiny meteorites, streams of particles coming off the Sun and radiation in the form of solar and cosmic rays.

Space is a harsh environment, filled with tiny meteorites, streams of particles coming off the Sun and radiation in the form of solar and cosmic rays. While Earth's atmosphere protects us from space weathering, other bodies like the moon and asteroids don't have atmospheres. As a result, the soil on the moon’s surface has undergone changes caused by space weathering, making it fundamentally different from the rock that the rest of the moon is composed of. It’s kind of like a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone: the outer surface doesn’t match what’s inside.

While Earth's atmosphere protects us from space weathering, the surface of the Moon and asteroids have undergone changes caused by space weathering in the absence of atmospheres. Therefore, the soil on the moon is very different from the rock that the moon is made off. By understanding the phenomenon of space weathering, scientists can more accurately predict what’s just under the surface of moons and asteroids that are too far away.

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