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Scientists have confirmed that the moon has been receiving oxygen particles from Earth for billions of years now.
Previous space missions have discovered traces of oxygen in the moon’s atmosphere and soil. It is believed that some of this oxygen is native to the moon, while the rest comes from heavenly bodies like the sun. Now, scientists have discovered that some of the moon’s oxygen also comes from Earth.
In 2007, a spacecraft called Kaguya recorded changes in the moon for two years. Scientists found that there were different types of oxygen ions in the moon. Upon analyzing the oxygen samples, they found that some of these ions match those found in Earth’s atmosphere.
Furthermore, the data showed that the moon’s oxygen levels rose whenever Earth moved between the sun and the moon.
Kentaro Terada, one of the scientists involved in the project, explained that this happens because oxygen ions from Earth travel to the moon with the help of solar wind. Solar wind, a stream of charged particles from the sun, travels through space and brings oxygen from the sun to the moon’s surface. However, for five days in a month, Earth blocks the solar wind’s path. When this happens, oxygen ions from Earth’s atmosphere get caught in the solar wind and are transported to the moon. During this time, only oxygen from Earth reaches lunar surface.
Scientists are hopeful that this discovery will help understand how water is formed on the moon. In addition, they also believe that oxygen ions from Earth’s early years are still trapped in the moon’s soil, and studying these may reveal valuable information about the history of life on Earth.