Mystery of Apollo Mission Moon Rock Samples Finally Solved

Scientists may have solved the mystery of organic matter found in lunar samples from the Apollo missions. The findings may tell researchers a bit more about the moon and about future samples that are taken.

Samples of the lunar soil brought back by the Apollo astronauts contain low levels of organic matter in the form of amino acids. Certain amino acids are actually the building blocks of proteins, which are essential molecules used by life to build structures like hair and skin and to regulate chemical reactions.

With that said, the lunar surface is completely inhospitable to all known forms of life. In fact, the researchers don't think that the organic matter came from life on the moon. Instead, scientists believe that the amino acids could have come from terrestrial sources that may have contaminated the samples, rocket exhaust, the solar wind-which contains the elements to make amino acids-or chemical reactions inside asteroids, which can make amino acids.

"People knew amino acids were in the lunar samples, but they didn't know where they came from," said Jamie Elsila, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The scientists in the 1970s knew the right questions to ask and they tried pretty hard to answer them, but they were limited by the analytical capabilities of the time. We have the technology now, and we've determined that most of the amino acids came from terrestrial contamination, with perhaps a small contribution from meteorite impacts."

The researchers analyzed the seven samples taken during the Apollo missions to better understand the type of contamination that occurred. In the end, they determine it was largely from terrestrial sources.

The new findings finally solve a long-standing mystery when it comes to these samples.

The findings are published in the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.

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