NASA announced on July 1 that it had discovered that the moon's underground was much richer in iron and titanium than scientists previously estimated. The observations transmitted by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) during its ice search mission at the lunar poles allowed this deduction, the space agency said in a press release.
These data prompt scientists to revise their hypotheses concerning the evolution of our natural satellite. They are also changing the nature of the world's great powers' interest in lunar exploration, says CNews. The significant presence of metals on the Moon would indeed represent a capital strategic asset in the development of space missions bound for Mars or other destinations very far from Earth.
The origin of the Moon is challenged
The raw materials naturally available under the lunar surface could be used to build and maintain bases on the Moon, thus facilitating explorations. The question of the ownership of materials extracted from the soils of our satellite would then arise and it could create disagreements between certain countries.
On the NASA side, however, it is above all the scientific dimension of the discovery that is of interest. This large quantity of metals undermines the hypothesis that a collision between a protoplanet and the Earth is at the origin of the satellite.
"We continue to make new discoveries about the distant past of our closest neighbor," said Noah Petro, in charge of the LRO project at NASA. Astronomers recognize, however, that this recent information does not allow them to explain with certainty the process that led to the formation of the Moon.
Sciences
Return to the Moon: NASA launches a call for projects for the design of lunar toilets
Sciences
The basements of Europe, a moon of Jupiter, could shelter a potentially "habitable" ocean
- Space
- Sciences
- Research
- Nasa
- Moon