Do the depths of the moon contain precious metals?

Little Mohamed Western

The results of a new scientific study conducted by geologists in Canada and the United States suggest that a stock of precious metals could be located under the moon..

Scientists came to this conclusion after establishing similarities between the Earth's and the Moon's mineral deposits, and simulated the Moon's formation conditions, which shows that it contains minerals such as platinum and silver. palladium..

These discoveries also explain why no trace of these minerals was found in lunar rocks brought in the 1970s during Apollo's inhabited journeys in Earth Follower..

Similarity between the Earth and the Moon
Geologists have long thought that the moon may have been formed because of an unknown planet colliding with the Earth before 4.5 Billions of years Because of this common past, scientists predicted that the two bodies would have a similar composition.

But measurements made on the concentrations of precious metals in lunar volcanic rocks are common 2006 Has shown unexpected levels on Earth, which has puzzled scientists.

In the new study published in the journal "Geo Science" In August, researchers from Dalhousie University in Canada, Carleton University, and the Washington Geophysical Laboratory used what has been observed on Earth about the properties and composition of geological layers rich in precious metals for reach similar conclusions for the Moon..

Scientists have previously observed the presence of precious metals in the soil in some compounds, such as iron sulphide.

And"Examination of mineral deposits on the ground indicates that iron sulphide is an ideal place to store precious metals, such as platinum and palladium." Lead author of the study, James Brennan, is a professor in Dalhousie's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences..

The south pole of the moon where the craters of Schrödinger and Zeman are and where some deep layers of the moon are exposed NASA.

Brennan et al. Conducted experiments to simulate extreme pressure and temperature inside the moon to determine the amount of iron sulphide.

They also measured the composition of the rocks and the resulting sulphide, and confirmed the presence of precious metals with iron sulphide.

Explain the reason for the low concentrations of these minerals in lunar rocks brought from the moon during Apollo voyages 15 And17 In the early 1970s and analyzed a year 2006Scientists think that they have settled in the depths when the magma sank on the moon before 4.5 Billions of years.

However, Dr. Brennan said that they would need samples of the deep rocky part of the moon, from which lunar lava comes, to confirm the findings of this new study..

Exploring the moon is not as easy as scientists have explored the geological structure of the Earth and obtained samples of the composition of deep geological layers. Scientists need more than samples brought to Earth to determine the composition of the inner layers of the moon.

Scientists have therefore analyzed the results of satellite remote sensing that indicate the possibility of detecting the inner layers of the moon inside the craters and at a depth resulting from the impact of meteorites, especially in the basin. "Aitken" At the south pole of the moon where there are nozzles "Schrödinger" And"Zeman" The two big ones.