News in Brief Planetary Science

Oxygen atoms from Earth bombard the moon

For over 2 billion years, bits of atmosphere have traveled to lunar surface, data suggest

illustration of sun, Earth and moon

OTHERWORDLY OXYGEN  Oxygen atoms escape from the upper atmosphere into Earth’s magnetosphere (blue lines), researchers propose. For five days each lunar cycle, the moon passes through the magnetosphere and is bombarded by oxygen (green haze).

Osaka University, NASA

By Thomas Sumner

- More than 2 years ago

Life on Earth may have made its mark on the moon billions of years before Neil Armstrong’s famous first step.