Scientists Just Uncovered the Moon’s Hidden Volcanic Activity – Here’s the Evidence!

Scientists have identified volcanic glass beads in lunar soil samples, indicating that volcanic activity continued on the Moon as recently as 123 million years ago. This finding, available on Science, is the youngest volcanic activity ever recorded on the Moon, challenging assumptions that lunar volcanism ceased billions of years ago.

It must be said that, for decades, lunar volcanism was believed to have ended around 2.8 billion years ago, based on earlier samples from missions like Apollo. However, recent research from China’s Chang’e-5 mission, which returned soil samples from the Moon in December 2020, has now revealed volcanic activity persisted much longer.

How Chang’e-5 Shaped the Latest Lunar Discovery

The breakthrough came from the Chang’e-5 mission, which was launched by China’s space agency and successfully returned lunar soil samples in December 2020. Researchers from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) examined these samples and identified volcanic glass beads, which had formed during volcanic eruptions as recently as 123 million years ago. The beads, which are small and formed when gas-rich magma erupts, were studied using advanced techniques to confirm their volcanic origin.

This research, published on September 5, 2024, used sulfur isotope analysis and chemical composition studies to distinguish these beads from those created by meteorite impacts, which had been the focus of previous lunar studies. This allowed them to precisely date the volcanic glass beads.

“There is a ~1.9-billion-year gap between eruptions recorded at the landing site. The presence of such young lunar volcanism implies that small celestial bodies, such as the Moon, could maintain sufficient heat to sustain internal vitality until the very late stage,” explained Yuyang He, a geophysicist from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 

Glass Beads as Evidence of Recent Volcanic Activity

Volcanic glass beads are produced when magma erupts explosively, cooling quickly and forming glass particles. These beads are typically small, sometimes measuring just a fraction of a millimeter, and can travel across vast areas. On the Moon, such beads can be deposited in the soil and preserved over millions of years.

According to the research, the beads identified in the Chang’e-5 samples differ from impact glass beads in their chemical composition and sulfur isotopes, confirming that they were formed by volcanic eruptions rather than meteorite collisions. The study analyzed around 3,000 glass beads in total, identifying three distinct volcanic beads. These beads were then dated using uranium-lead dating methods.

The Moon’s Thermal Past

Previous research suggested that the Moon’s interior had cooled significantly billions of years ago, leaving it geologically inactive. However, the discovery of volcanic activity suggests that the Moon’s interior remained active much later than expected.

“It is unclear how the Moon could have remained volcanically active at such a late stage; as the interior cooled and the lithosphere thickened, volcanic activity would have become less likely,” he said.

These results force scientists to reassess their models of lunar geology, particularly when it comes to the Moon’s internal heat and the longevity of volcanic activity.

“Where were those volcanic glass beads from? Is there other volcanic activity between 2 billion and 120 million years ago? What mechanism caused it? Further investigations are needed.”

With more analysis to come from the Chang’e-5 mission, scientists are poised to uncover even more surprises about the Moon’s geological past.