Earth's atmosphere may help support human life on the moon

Terrestrial Particles Travel to the Moon by Hitchhiking Along Earth’s Magnetic Field Lines

Learn how nitrogen and helium end up in lunar soil, and why this helps us understand planetary habitability.

Good news for lunar bases? Earth's atmosphere leaks all the way out to the moon

Anomalous amounts of volatile elements found in the Apollo samples brought back from the moon have been traced back to our own planet's leaky atmosphere.

Earth's atmosphere may help support human life on the moon

The moon's surface may be more than just a dusty, barren landscape. Over billions of years, tiny particles from Earth's atmosphere have landed in the lunar soil, creating a possible source of life-sustaining substances for future astronauts. But scientists have only recently begun to understand how these particles make the long journey from Earth to the moon and how long the process has been taking place.

Earth’s Atmosphere Has Been Leaking Onto the Moon for Billions of Years, Study Finds

Earth’s atmosphere has been leaking atoms and molecules to the moon for billions of years, preserving a historical record and potential resources for future lunar missions.

Earth’s magnetic field funneled atmospheric elements to the Moon over billions of years

Lunar rocks are famously dry. They contain almost none of the volatile elements that easily escape into space, such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and light noble gases. Yet those same elements appear in the Moon’s loose surface soil, known as regolith. Because they are largely missing from solid rock, their presence in soil points to sources beyond the Moon itself. One obvious contributor is the solar wind. This steady stream of charged particl…

Earth may be slowly feeding the moon with water and nitrogen, study finds

The Moon is often seen as a dry, lifeless world covered in dust. But new research suggests its surface may hold more useful material than scientists once believed—and some of it may have come from Earth itself. Over billions of years, tiny particles from Earth’s atmosphere appear to have traveled through space and settled into […] The post Earth may be slowly feeding the moon with water and nitrogen, study finds appeared first on Knowridge Scien…