I grew up with the idea that the Moon was a dry, airless rock where metal simply sat unchanged for billions of years. The discovery of actual iron rust in lunar soil has blown a hole in that picture, ...

A new investigation into rust on the Moon implicates Earth as the culprit. Oxygen leaking out of Earth is likely responsible for the transformation of iron to hematite (Fe 2 O 3) at the lunar poles.

Tiny iron oxide grains found in lunar soil samples brought by the Chinese Chang’e-6 mission upend what was known about the Moon’s surface and magnetic properties, scientists revealed in a new study.