Moon: inherits noble gases from Earth

Researchers at ETH Zurich have shown that the Moon he has inherited noble gases of the Country. A useful study to better investigate the formation of the lunar satellite. So also to know more about the earth and other celestial bodies. To analyze the six samples of moon meteorites was Patrizia Will, a doctoral student at the Polytechnic University of Zurich. The samples were collected by NASA in Antarctica. The expert discovered that the noble gases neon and helium are present more than expected and in basalt materials. The solar wind can therefore be excluded as a source.

So these gases come from within the Moon and are “inherited” from the Earth. This is in line with the generally accepted theory of a “giant impact,” that is, a collision between the young Earth and another celestial body that led to the moon about 4.5 billion years ago.

Polytechnic University of Zurich

In practice, the moon would have been activated from a volcanic point of view. Before a rapid cooling that allowed the formation of glass particles, containment helium and neon. The latter are elements that are protected from the solar wind by other magma layers. A way to keep their isotopic sign unchanged.

While these noble gases are not necessary for life, it would be interesting to know how they survived a birth as abrupt as that of the moon.

study authors

This would be useful for experts (geophysicists and geochemists) to create new models with these highly volatile elements.