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Scientists have concluded in a recent research that continuous bombardment by tiny meteorites on the Moon's surface has helped shape the composition of the Lunar atmosphere.
Knewz.com has learned that scientists have long been searching for a conclusive theory that accounts for the formation and sustenance of the Moon's atmosphere, which is rich in atomic particles.
A team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Chicago have been working to unravel the mysteries of the lunar atmosphere when they discovered what sustains it.
The team found that the Moon is constantly being bombarded by something they called "micrometeorites," which are comparable to a grain of sand in terms of size.
These tiny meteorites vaporize themselves and minute bits from the lunar surface upon impact, as their atoms rise into the atmosphere.
While scientists previously theorized that this phenomenon, called "impact vaporization," and the solar winds experienced by the satellite were what shaped the Moon's atmosphere, they were not completely sure of the relative importance of the two factors.
However, Nicole Nie, an assistant professor in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and lead author of the research, said that their study can now provide "a definitive answer."
"Meteorite impact vaporization is the dominant process that creates the lunar atmosphere," Nie said in a statement.
"The moon is close to 4.5 billion years old, and through that time the surface has been continuously bombarded by meteorites. We show that eventually, a thin atmosphere reaches a steady state because it’s being continuously replenished by small impacts all over the moon," he added.
The paper based on their research called the process "space weathering" and wrote that a major consequence of the phenomenon "is the production of tenuous, collisionless, gravitationally bound atmospheres (exospheres) surrounding planetary bodies such as the Moon and Mercury."
To establish "impact vaporization" as the more significant process involved in the formation of the Moon's atmosphere, the team of scientists analyzed the soil samples brought back from the lunar surface by Apollo astronauts.
The scientists focused more on the elements potassium and rubidium—both of which are more susceptible to getting vaporized upon impact, as well as under the influence of solar winds.
"The key to their discovery lay in the way different processes affect these isotopes. Micrometeorite impacts and solar wind sputtering leave distinct isotopic fingerprints in the lunar soil. By carefully analyzing these patterns, the researchers were able to determine the dominant force shaping the Moon’s atmosphere over time," it has been reported.
The research concluded that impact vaporization accounts for around 70% of the atomic particles present in the Moon's atmosphere.
In addition to establishing this theory and mapping a rough history of the lunar atmosphere, the latest research – which was published in the journal Science Advances – also underlined the significance of the Apollo missions.
"Without these Apollo samples, we would not be able to get precise data and measure quantitatively to understand things in more detail. It’s important for us to bring samples back from the moon and other planetary bodies, so we can draw clearer pictures of the solar system’s formation and evolution," lead author Nie said, according to reports.