Using data from a NASA instrument onboard India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission, scientists have, for the first time, found the oxidised iron mineral hematite at high latitudes on the Moon.
The findings come as a surprise to planetary scientists since the lunar surface is virtually devoid of any oxygen.
Iron is highly reactive with oxygen and forms rust, which is commonly seen on Earth. However, on the Moon, the hydrogen in solar wind blasts the surface, which acts in opposition to oxidation. This makes the presence of highly oxidised iron-bearing minerals, such as hematite, on the Moon an unexpected discovery.
According to researchers from University of Hawai’i, the lunar hematite may have formed with the help of oxygen from the Earth’s upper atmosphere that has been continuously blown to the lunar surface by solar winds during the past several billion years.
Picture Credit : Google
