A new study, supported by NASA, shows that 3,000-4,000 million years ago, the Moon had an atmosphere around it thanks to intense volcanic eruptions that expelled gases onto the surface faster than they could escape into the air. space. The study has been published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
Recall that the analysis of samples from the Apollo missions showed that magmas at the time the Moon was still hot and generated magmatic plumes that coincidentally broke the lunar surface and flowed for hundreds of kilometers, they also carried gas components, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur, ingredients for water and other volatile compounds.
Thus, the gases that rose from the erupting lavas as they flowed over the surface, accumulated around the Moon forming a transitory atmosphere. According to experts, this atmosphere was thicker about 3.5 billion years ago (at the peak of the satellite’s volcanic activity) and would have persisted for about 70 million years before finally being lost to space.
“The total amount of H2O released during the emplacement of the basalt seas is almost twice the volume of water in Lake Tahoe in the US (which has an area of 496.2 km²). would have been lost in space, a significant fraction could have reached the lunar poles, which means that some of the volatiles that we observe at the Moon’s poles may have arisen inside the Moon, “explains NASA’s Debra H. Needham .
It seems that this new research leads to a drastic change in our view of what the Moon was like , says David Kring, a co-author of the work. And it is that when the Moon had such an atmosphere, it was almost 3 times closer to the Earth than it is today and it would have appeared almost 3 times larger in the sky. The show had to be great (can you imagine a supermoon at this time?).
What does this find mean?
It has a great implication for future exploration, since the analysis carried out by the scientists quantifies an important source of volatile compounds that can remain trapped in the coldest regions of the Moon. These compounds could provide an interesting source of ice for an ongoing lunar exploration program.
The high abundance of volatile elements – chemicals and molecules that have relatively low boiling points – such as water, carbon dioxide and hydrogen – in basalt craters will also be important for future construction on the moon. The volcanic material is rich in resources that could be used to make water for fuel to support a lunar outpost.
Above all, the new study shows us how much we still have to learn. The celestial body closest to our reach, the only extraterrestrial world in which the human species has walked, the Moon, had an atmosphere that for years has gone unnoticed before our eyes. Traveling to the Moon becomes more and more feasible.
Reference: Debra H. Needham et al. Lunar volcanism produced a transient atmosphere around the ancient Moon, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1016 / j.epsl.2017.09.002
Image credit: NASA MSFC
Map of the gas-emitting basalt lavas on the Moon.
