Methane from Lunar Landers May Contaminate Ancient Organi...

What’s Happening

Listen up: Learn how exhaust methane from lunar spacecraft may pollute the moon, potentially contaminating molecules that are billions of years old.

As more lunar landers start to aim for the moon, they may contaminate craters that hold clues to the origin of life. When spacecraft land on the moon, the exhaust methane they emit spreads out to the lunar north and south poles. (shocking, we know)

This contamination could hinder the search for prebiotic organic molecules, key building blocks of life believed to be trapped within icy craters.

The Details

A recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets has modeled how exhaust methane moves on the moon for the first time. The findings reveal that exhaust methane from lunar spacecraft at some point settles at the lunar poles; in the process, over half of the methane could end up contaminating regions that are critical to future missions in the search for prebiotic organic molecules.

: The Moon Is Moving Farther From Earth Each Year, and Tides Are the Reason Frozen Clues on the Moon Space agencies around the world have their sights set on the moon’s north and south poles, hoping to uncover frozen lunar water in craters and obtain evidence of prebiotic organic molecules. Billions of years ago, these molecules were delivered to the moon and Earth asteroids.

Why This Matters

Earth’s surface has changed so much throughout its history that the ancient molecules are most likely gone forever. But, on the moon, where the surface has remained largely unchanged for billions of years, molecules may be preserved in permanently shadowed regions. “We know we have organic molecules in the solar system — in asteroids, for example,” dropped senior author Silvio Sinibaldi, the planetary protection officer at the European Space Agency, in a statement .

Scientists and researchers are watching this development closely.

The Bottom Line

“But how they came to perform specific functions like they do in biological matter is a gap we need to fill. ” Widespread Lunar Contamination While the contamination of lunar samples has always been a concern, it could become a serious issue as interest in moon exploration reaches new heights.

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