How the moon's hidden protection shields against solar wind erosion

How the moon's hidden protection shields against solar wind erosion

The moon's thin atmosphere, called an exosphere, has been a puzzle to science for some time. Two main processes were thought to create this wispy gas envelope; tiny meteoroids hitting the surface and solar wind particles bombarding the lunar soil. But new research using Apollo moon samples reveals that the moon's own surface features provide surprising protection against solar wind erosion.

Moon erosion by solar wind far weaker than previously believed

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 24, 2025 The surface of the Moon is constantly exposed to the solar wind-a stream of charged particles from the Sun that can dislodge atoms from the lunar surface and contribute to its thin exosphere. However, a new study by Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) and international collaborators reveals that earlier models greatly overestimated this sputtering effect. The researchers attribute th

The Moon’s Hidden Shield: How Surface Features Defend Against Solar Wind

In a recent study published in Communications Earth & Environment, researchers have uncovered an astonishing revelation about the Moon’s surface, challenging previous beliefs about its exosphere. While it was once thought that solar wind and meteoroid impacts were primarily responsible for the creation of the Moon’s thin exosphere, new findings suggest that the Moon’s surface features—such as its roughness and porosity—serve as a hidden shield a…