Could There Really Be Fossils From Earth On The Moon?

We ’ve take heed about lots of big plans for the Moon : mining colonies , outer space tourism , skill outposts , observatory , evenart installations . But now we might be capable to add “ dodo ballpark . ” New inquiry evoke that fogy dislodged from Earth could have hit the lunar surface — and remained intact .

Mark Burchell , a professor of space science at the University of Kent , ledthe study , which simulated the conditions that fossilized diatom — microscopical algae with detailed scale — might have faced if travelling from the Earth to the Moon .

This would have been a tough journeying . The typical scenario would take two extreme shock upshot . The first would occur when a giant physical object — say an asteroid — impact the Earth and threw up high - speed ejecta , which would then scat into outer space . The 2d , more uttermost shock would take place when , after a period of traveling in space , the terrestrial rock would make a violent arrival at its raw home , impacting the Moon at upper as high as 3 kilometers per second .

Hostinger Coupon Code 15% Off

Burchell ’s research squad turned dodo - fill rock ‘n’ roll into gunpowder , which they then mixed with water and freeze to replicate meteoroid . The frigid samples were then fired into a bag of water — at speeds between 0.4 and 5 klick per second — using alarge natural gas - powered gunthat simulate the impact of being launched into eye socket . The high pressure that the samples experienced as they polish off the water roughly duplicated the condition of hitting the lunar control surface .

The scientists find that the high-pitched the speed , the more fragmented the fossils . But , some of those fragments could still be recognized as biologic in origin , and the pocket-sized fossil could survive intact at f number somewhat higher than 5 kilometers per second . ( See left : Images a , b , c show intact diatom ; d , e , f show fragment ) .

The conclusion : Rocks on the Moon might contain fossilized life forms from Earth ’s distant past . All we need to do now is go up there and look for them .

Burning Blade Tavern Epic Universe