A recent study by scientists reveals that lunar rocks gathered by Apollo astronauts over 50 years ago are offering new insights into the moon’s enigmatic magnetic field. The University of Oxford researchers in England found that the moon’s magnetic field, though historically weak, experienced brief intense periods exceeding Earth’s magnetic activity around three to four billion years ago. These findings, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, suggest that the moon had short-lived spikes in high magnetic field strength due to melting titanium-rich rocks within its core.
The upcoming Artemis program, spearheaded by NASA, aims to further investigate these phenomena by sending astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen, on a mission around the moon. Scheduled for launch from Kennedy Space Center as early as April, the Artemis II crew will explore the moon’s south polar region, unlike the previous Apollo missions that focused on low-latitude lava plains. This shift in exploration aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the moon’s ancient magnetic properties.
Lead author Claire Nichols emphasized that the high titanium levels in rocks collected during Apollo missions correlated with preserved evidence of heightened magnetic activity. This discovery is considered a crucial missing link in comprehending the moon’s magnetic field fluctuations, which may have been more dynamic than previously believed.
Future Artemis astronauts are planning to investigate ancient rocks near the moon’s south pole, where hidden water ice is suspected to exist in permanently shadowed craters. Nichols emphasized the importance of unraveling the moon’s magnetic shield history in relation to planetary habitability, underscoring its significance for future space exploration endeavors.
