Does the depths of the moon contain precious metals?

Little Mohamed Western

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study by geologists in Canada and the United States suggests a stockpile of precious metals may be found beneath the surface of the moon.

The scientists came to this conclusion after drawing similarities between the mineral deposits on Earth and the moon, and to simulate the conditions of the formation of the moon show that it contains minerals such as platinum and palladium.

These findings also provide an explanation of why no trace of these minerals was found in the lunar rocks brought in the 1970s during Apollo's manned voyages to Earth.

Similarity between Earth and Moon
Geologists have long believed that the moon was formed by an unknown planet impacting Earth 4.5 billion years ago, and because of this common past, scientists predicted that the two bodies would have a similar composition.

But measurements of precious metal concentrations in lunar volcanic rocks in 2006 showed unexpectedly low levels on Earth, which puzzled scientists.

In a new study published in the Geo Science journal in August, researchers from Dalhousie University in Canada, Carleton University and the Geophysics Laboratory in Washington used what was observed on the ground about the properties and composition of precious metals-rich geologic layers to reach similar conclusions. For the moon.

Scientists have previously observed the presence of precious metals in the earth in some compounds, such as iron sulfide.

"Examination of mineral deposits on Earth indicates that iron sulfide is a great place to store precious metals, such as platinum and palladium," says lead author James Brennan, a professor at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in Dalhousie.

Brennan and his colleagues conducted experiments to simulate the extreme pressure and temperature of the interior of the moon, to determine the amount of iron sulfide.

They also measured the composition of the rocks and the resulting sulfide, and confirmed the presence of precious metals with iron sulfide.

To explain why the low concentrations of these minerals in lunar rocks brought from the moon during Apollo 15 and 17 flights in the early 1970s and analyzed in 2006, scientists believe they stabilized deep when magma flowed on the moon about 4.5 billion years ago.

However, Dr Brennan says they will need samples from the deep rocky part of the moon, where lunar lava originated, to confirm the results of this new study.

Exploring the moon is not as easy as the scientists explored the geological structure of the Earth and obtained samples of the composition of deep geological layers, as scientists need more than samples brought to Earth to determine the composition of the inner layers of the moon.

Scientists have therefore analyzed the results of remote sensing by satellites that indicate the possibility of the exposure of the inner layers of the moon within the craters of the enormous and deep craters caused by the impact of meteorites, especially in the basin "Aitken" in the south pole of the moon where the two craters "Schrodinger" and "Zeman" .