When the astronauts returned from NASA's latest mission to Apollo 17 in 1972, they brought with them samples of rocks, some of which were sealed and carefully stored to analyze future researchers.
A research team led by Brown University analyzed some of these examples and found that their chemical composition is very different from the earth.
Specifically, the analysis of the samples obtained from the Moon's Taurus Littrow area shows that volcanic material contains sulfur compounds extremely poor in sulfur-33 (S33), one of the four constant isotopes of the sulfur, and is opposed to the proportions of divine isotopes.
Some chemicals carry their own "fingerprints" in the form of isotopes, that is, subtle differences in the weight of their people.
If two rocks have the same isotopic footprint, this is an indication that they come from the same source. In the case of the Moon and the Earth, the researchers have identified significant similarities in isotopes of oxygen and a similar image awaited divine isotopes.
In the present study, the scientists analyzed samples from a hollow metal cylinder, which was introduced by Apollo astronauts about 60 cm on lunar territory. They used an extremely accurate and modern method of isotopes analysis, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS).
James Dotin, Assistant Professor of Geological, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Brown University and head of the study, notes in a statement that he has sought specific specimens that seemed to come from a volcanic rock.
"I sought to find a divine texture that suggests that it came from the rock explosion and was not added through a different process."
Researchers give two possible explanations for this differentiation they found on the Moon in relation to the Earth. They could be remnants of chemical processes that took place on the Moon at the beginning of its history, as the reduced S33 ratio is observed when the divine interacts with ultraviolet radiation in a visually sparse atmosphere.
It is believed that the Moon had a short lasting atmosphere at the beginning of its history, which could support this interaction.
The second probability is that differentiation is related to the predominant explanation for the creation of the Moon, according to which a celestial body of about the same size as' Mars, known as' divine '(Theia) collided with the then primordial earth and the debris from the conflict and formed.
Researchers point out that it is possible that the composition of the sulfur of this celestial body was very different from the earth and these differences have been recorded in the Moon's mantle.
It is not clear which of the two explanations is the correct one, but the researchers point out that further study of sulfur isotope from 'Mars and other celestial bodies will sometimes help scientists find the answer.
The study was published in the journal JG: Planets.
