Tipping Point Quick Hits (2.29.24)

The rusting Moon, Western troops in Ukraine, and the return of CBDCs

Red Moon Rising: The Moon is Rusting

It doesn’t have liquid water or oxygen, but the Moon seems to be “rusting.” Scientists are baffled by the presence of hematite, an oxidized form of iron, on the Moon. In other words, there’s an increasing amount of rust on the Moon.

On Earth, hematite requires air and water in order to form. The Moon has very little oxygen and no liquid water, so scientists have struggled to explain exactly what is happening:

India’s lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, orbited the moon in 2008, gathering data that has led to numerous discoveries over the years—including the revelation that there are water molecules on its surface. The probe also carried an instrument built by NASA that could analyze the moon’s mineral composition.

When researchers at NASA and the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology analyzed the data recently, they were stunned to find hints of hematite, a form of iron oxide known as rust. There are plenty of iron-rich rocks on the moon—but rust is only produced when iron is exposed to oxygen and water.

“At first, I totally didn’t believe it. It shouldn’t exist based on the conditions present on the Moon,” said Abigail Fraeman, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a press release.