Rock collected by Apollo 17 astronauts reveals moon's true age [View all]

Lunar dust collected by Apollo 17 astronauts in the 1970s has revealed that the moon is 40 million years older than previously believed.

After landing on the moon on December 11, 1972, NASA astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt collected rocks and dust from the lunar surface. A new analysis of that sample detected zircon crystals and dated them to 4.46 billion years old. Previous estimates put the moon, formed by a massive celestial collision, at 4.425 billion years old.

The findings were published Monday in the journal Geochemical Perspectives Letters.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/23/world/apollo-17-moon-age-crystals-scn/index.html

Can’t wait for the astros to get back there. 🚀 🌙