. 24/7 Space News .
EXO WORLDS
WSU researcher sees possibility of moon life
by Staff Writers
Pullman WA (SPX) Jul 24, 2018

Earth and Moon as imaged by Kaguya.

While the Moon is uninhabitable today, there could have been life on its surface in the distant past.

In fact, there may have been two early windows of habitability for Earth's Moon, according to a study online in the journal Astrobiology by Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at Washington State University.

Schulze-Makuch and Ian Crawford, a professor of planetary science and astrobiology at the University of London, say conditions on the lunar surface were sufficient to support simple lifeforms shortly after the Moon formed from a debris disk 4 billion years ago and again during a peak in lunar volcanic activity around 3.5 billion years ago.

During both periods, planetary scientists think the Moon was spewing out large quantities of superheated volatile gases, including water vapor, from its interior.

Schulze-Makuch and Crawford write that this outgassing could have formed pools of liquid water on the lunar surface and an atmosphere dense enough to keep it there for millions of years.

"If liquid water and a significant atmosphere were present on the early Moon for long periods of time, we think the lunar surface would have been at least transiently habitable," Schulze-Makuch said.

Ingredients for life
Schulze-Makuch and Crawford's work draws on results from recent space missions and sensitive analyses of lunar rock and soil samples that show the Moon is not as dry as previously thought.

In 2009 and 2010, an international team of scientists discovered hundreds of millions of metric tons of water ice on the Moon. Additionally, there is strong evidence of a large amount of water in the lunar mantle that is thought to have been deposited very early on in the Moon's formation.

The early Moon is also likely to have been protected by a magnetic field that could have shielded lifeforms on the surface from deadly solar winds.

Space-travelling microbes
Life on the Moon could have originated much as it did on Earth but the more likely scenario is that it would have been brought in by a meteorite, Schulze-Makuch said.

The earliest evidence for life on Earth comes from fossilized cyanobacteria that are between 3.5 and 3.8 billion years old. During this time, the solar system was dominated by frequent and giant meteorite impacts. It is possible that meteorites containing simple organisms like cyanobacteria could have been blasted off the surface of the Earth and landed on the Moon.

"It looks very much like the Moon was habitable at this time," Schulze-Makuch said. "There could have actually been microbes thriving in water pools on the Moon until the surface became dry and dead."

Lunar simulations
Schulze-Makuch acknowledges that determining if life arose on the Moon or was transported from elsewhere "can only be addressed by an aggressive future program of lunar exploration."

One promising line of inquiry for any future space missions would be to obtain samples from deposits from the period of heightened volcanic activity to see if they contained water or other possible markers of life.

In addition, experiments could be conducted in simulated lunar environments on Earth and on the International Space Station to see if microorganisms can survive under the environmental conditions predicted to have existed on the early Moon.

Research paper


Related Links
Washington State University
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


EXO WORLDS
Origami-inspired device helps marine biologists study aliens
New York NY (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
Scientists have tried to find the safest and most effective ways to explore marine life in the oceanic water, the largest and least explored environment on Earth, for years. Each time, they were faced with the same challenge: How to capture delicate or gelatinous pelagic animals - like jellyfish, squid, and octopuses - without harming them? A new device developed by researchers at Harvard University's Wyss Institute, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), Radcliffe Inst ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

EXO WORLDS
Team Powers On AA-2 Orion Module, Preps for Flight Test Simulation

A Two-Dimensional Space Program

Seeking 72-hour Space Environment Forecasts with Updates on the Hour

First space tourist flights could come in 2019

EXO WORLDS
Latest Blue Origin Launch Tests Technologies of Interest to Space Exploration

Roscosmos' Research Center's Staff Suspected of Leaking Data Abroad

Pentagon Requests Funds for First Offensive Hypersonic Weapons

Hot firing proves solid rocket motor for Ariane 6 and Vega-C

EXO WORLDS
'Storm Chasers' on Mars Searching for Dusty Secrets

Martian Atmosphere Behaves as One

Undergrad Mines Data from Curiosity Rover in Search for Life

Name Europe's robot to roam and search for life on Mars

EXO WORLDS
China developing in-orbit satellite transport vehicle

PRSS-1 Satellite in Good Condition

China readying for space station era: Yang Liwei

China launches new space science program

EXO WORLDS
Space, not Brexit, is final frontier for Scottish outpost

Billion Pound export campaign to fuel UK space industry

mu Space confirms payload on Blue Origin's upcoming New Shepard flight

New satellite constellations will soon fill the sky

EXO WORLDS
Chemical Gardens in Space

What's your idea to 3D print on the Moon

Why won't Parker Solar Probe melt

Future electronic components to be printed like newspapers

EXO WORLDS
X-ray Data May Be First Evidence of a Star Devouring a Planet

Origami-inspired device helps marine biologists study aliens

Glowing bacteria on deep-sea fish shed light on evolution, 'third type' of symbiosis

Finding a Planet with a 10-Year Orbit in a Few Months

EXO WORLDS
Dozen new Jupiter moons declared

The True Colors of Pluto and Charon

NASA Juno data indicate another possible volcano on Jupiter moon Io

First Global Maps of Pluto and Charon from New Horizons Published









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.