Moon mission: New discoveries still remain for the 50 year old Apollo 17
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Inhaling Moon Dust Is Somehow Less Toxic Than Urban Air Pollution
During the Apollo missions, NASA operated out of an abundance of caution to ensure that astronauts didn't track back by planet-threatening microorganisms from the Moon. However, the conditions on Earth might be more dangerous to human life in one specific way. A study by the University of Technology Sydney published last month found that moon dust was far less toxic to our pulmonary system than the air pollution someone would encounter in a city. The study suggests that inhaling moon dust won't cause long-term damage to our airways. Tests showed lunar material didn't trigger significant oxidative stress to lung cells, dissuading the fears provoked by the uncomfortable experiences of Apollo astronauts and other NASA personnel after the missions from a half-century ago. Now, if you're in the exclusive club of scientists with access to powdered lunar regolith, I wouldn't whip out your I.D. badge to start snorting lines of moon dust for a laugh. Michaela B. Smith, lead researcher and Ph.D student, said: "Any dust, if you inhale it, you'll sneeze, cough, and have some physical irritation. But it's not highly toxic like silica, where you end up with silicosis from being on a construction site for 10 years. It's not going to be something like that." Read more: These Should Be The Next Mail Trucks When The Post Office Gets Privatized The researchers emphasized the critical difference between mechanical damage and toxicity. Moon dust is still infamously abrasive. The study noted the irregular shape and rough edges of the dust. According to statically-charged lunar dust would stick to space suits during Apollo's moon walks. This became a serious issue when astronauts returned to the Lunar Module. Once inside, the dust would sting the crew's eyes, cause a sore throat and sneezing. The same thing would happen once the flight surgeon unpaced the suit back on Earth. This new research will be used for Artemis III, NASA's first crewed return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. The mission is still scheduled for 2027 after numerous delays caused by development issues. However, the entire program has been jeopardized by the Trump administration's funding cuts and cancellation of the SLS rocket program. If Artemis continues, there are plans for a permanent human presence on the surface. Without the looming threats of long-term health issues, NASA could use moon dust to build its base on the surface. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
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Ancient moon volcanoes made tiny glass beads. Here's what they mean.
Tiny glass beads brought back by NASA's Apollo 17 astronauts are helping scientists uncover new clues about how the moon erupted billions of years ago. No one expected these glittering bits among the gray lunar dust back then. The beads, smaller than grains of sand, formed when ancient lunar volcanoes spewed molten rock. That rock quickly cooled and hardened into smooth glass in the cold vacuum of space. Now, using modern tools that weren't available a half-century ago following the mission, researchers have zoomed in closer than ever before to look at what's stuck on the outside of those glass beads. They found a kind of mineral powder — so fine you need microscopes to see it — formed as the beads flew through giant gas clouds during the fiery eruptions. These surface coatings reveal how the environment around the moon's volcanoes changed over time, according to a new study published in the journal Icarus. Instead of just confirming that lunar eruptions happened, the Brown University-led research provides insight into how they played out, layer by layer, crystal by crystal. The findings suggest the moon had a much more dynamic history of volcanoes, with evolving gas chemistry, temperature, and pressure changes, than previously known. "It's like reading the journal of an ancient lunar volcanologist," said Ryan Ogliore, a Washington University in St. Louis professor, in a statement. SEE ALSO: What does a meteorite taste like? Someone found out and bottled it. This is a microscopic view of lunar glass beads, smaller than grains of sand. Credit: Katharine Robinson and G. Jeffrey Taylor / Nature Geoscience 2014 The shimmery beads blasted out of the moon's interior when the moon was still young, about 3.3 to 3.6 billion years ago. As lava shot into the airless sky, it quickly cooled into smooth droplets of glass. Some came out shiny orange; others formed in glossy black. Because of their origins, the beads have colors, shapes, and chemical compositions unlike anything found on Earth. But the very existence of the beads is evidence that the moon had explosive eruptions — akin to the fire fountains seen in Hawaii today, Ogliore said. "The beads are tiny, pristine capsules of the lunar interior," he added. Unlike some older lunar samples, these delicate beads were protected from reacting with Earth's air to avoid contamination. The researchers particularly focused on black glass beads collected from a part of the moon called the Taurus-Littrow Valley, a site on the southeastern edge of the Sea of Serenity, formed after a large object smashed into the moon eons ago. Lava spews out of a lunar volcano, forming glass beads that encounter different conditions based on their trajectories through the volcanic gas cloud. Credit: T.A. Williams et al. / Icarus 2025 diagram The most common mineral found in the coatings was sphalerite, containing zinc, sulfur, and iron. The bottom of the micro-buildup was richer in iron, meaning it likely formed earlier when things were hotter and denser. The upper parts formed later, as things cooled down. The scientists found that the black beads had a lot more of these zinc-and-sulfur minerals on them compared to orange beads analyzed in earlier samples taken from the same area. That difference hints that the gas clouds were thicker or hotter at the time when the black beads formed. To probe the samples, the team used a high-energy ion beam to break apart tiny bits of the material, allowing scientists to measure their chemical makeup. They also used other advanced techniques, such as atom probe tomography and electron microscopy. "We've had these samples for 50 years, but we now have the technology to fully understand them," Ogliore said. "Many of these instruments would have been unimaginable when the beads were first collected."
