The presence of neon in the atmosphere of our satellite, the Moon, has been speculated for decades . Now, a team of NASA scientists has been able to confirm, thanks to data from the LADEE ( Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) probe, the existence of this gas so widely used on Earth. The finding has been published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters .
The LADEE space probe, thanks to the spacecraft’s NMS ( Neutral Mass Spectrometer ) instrument, has confirmed that the Moon’s exosphere is composed mainly of neon, helium and argon and their relative abundance depends on the time of day on our satellite with Neon peaks at 4:00 am and argon at sunrise, for example.
“The presence of neon in the Moon’s exosphere has been a subject of speculation since the Apollo missions, but no credible detections were made ,” explains Mehdi Benna, leader of the investigation.
And it is that the atmosphere of the Moon is very thin and its atoms rarely collide . Due to its leanness, the effect of spacecraft passing through it could easily change its composition: “It is very important to learn about the lunar exosphere before sustained human exploration alters it substantially,” Benna clarifies.
The space probe was intentionally sent against the lunar surface, impacting the moon in April 2014 due to the depletion of its fuel. To this day, all the data that the mission sent to Earth is still being studied .
