The moon rust thanks to the wind from the ground

The moon began to be covered with rust, and it was to blame for this … earthly “wind“. New data published in September 2025 in the journal Geophysical Research Lettersshow that the charged particles of oxygen, breaking out of the atmosphere of the Earth, are able to turn the lunar minerals into hematite – the same mineral that we usually call rust.

Zylyan Jin, a planetologist from the University of Science and Macau Technology, says:

“This discovery sheds light on a thin, almost related relationship between our planet and the moon, leaving traces of the history of space interactions on the satellite”

Most of the time of the Moon and Earth are washed by a sunny “wind” – a stream of particles from our star. But about five days a month, the Earth becomes a barrier, blocking the path of solar charges. During this period, the Moon receives the “earthly wind” – ions of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and other elements that previously located in the atmosphere of the Earth. Once on the surface of the satellite, they are introduced into the upper layers of the soil and launch chemical reactions, which on the moon themselves would not be expected.

This hypothesis is partially built on the 2020 Chandrayan-1 mission, when Indian scientists discovered hematite near the lunar poles. The mineral is rich in iron and is usually formed when the water interacts with oxygen. But in the conditions of the moon, where there is almost no moisture, the source of oxygen remained a mystery. Now new laboratory experiments have confirmed: the earth’s wind could well supply the satellite with the necessary ions.

In the laboratory of Jin and colleagues, to verify the theory, oxygen and hydrogen ions were accelerated to high energies and sent to the single -zeroles of minerals similar to the lunar. The result was impressive: oxygen gave rise to hematite, and hydrogen partially returned the mineral to iron.

“The moon passes through this invisible stream every month, and its surface is slowly but correctly changing,” the scientist explains.

Shuai Lee, a planetologist from the University of Hawaii, who noted the experiments of 2020, adds:

“This is a wonderful example when the laboratory confirms the cosmic hypothesis.”

He hopes that future missions will deliver real samples of lunar hematite to Earth for analysis and final confirmation of the role of oxygen of the earth’s wind. The moon is not just a passive companion, but an active “participant” of chemical interactions with the ground, and rust on its surface turns into a kind of archive of planetary chemistry.

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This article is republished from
naukatv.ru
on 2025-09-23 07:40:00.
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