Could the Moon Ever Have Harboured Life?
Channel: Astro Biological
Date: 17/11/2018

#astrobiology #astronomy #moon

Did anything ever live on the Moon? 

Today we'll look at an Interesting new idea: Could the moon ever have harboured life?

I'll present to you some new insights into the history and structure of the moon.
These findings could bolster the idea the moon could once have been home to life. 
They aren't definitive evidence, but it's a story worth exploring. 

The story of the moon is written into the story of life itself. Around four and a half billion years ago, earth itself had only just coalesced from a cloud of gases and dust that eventually gave rise to the entire solar system. Earth is believed to have formed without a moon. In fact, in a sense, earth as we know it today formed as a result of the moon.
Picture this. Earth is newly formed. It's a toxic planet with vast areas of it's surface covered by a magma ocean.
 From the outer solar system it comes. An object roughly the size of mars slams into Earth 1.0. The object has been named Theia. The impact is catastrophic, essentially tearing away the outer surface. Where does all of this crust go? Into space, forming a ring around the newly resurfaced earth. It is this ring, consisting of the fragments of both our world and Theia, that will form the moon.
That's the moon in a nutshell. It's influence on the course of life has been fundamental, with a critical role in climate and seasonality via the key role it plays in tides. For over four billion years the moon has stared down upon the world, seeing the march of life with all of it's ups and downs.
Has the moon itself been lifeless all this time? It's been our closest neighbour for practically forever. We have always thought of the moon as a dead, hostile place. Today it certainly is. With no atmosphere to speak of, almost no water and lethal solar radiation bombarding it's surface, the consensus of opinion is that the moon is completely devoid of life.
But it may not always have been like this.
It may be a stretch, but several studies have suggested that at least for a time the moon may have been at least habitable. Perhaps not an oasis of life, but a place that could harbour it.
How is this possible? As noted, we all know the moon is hostile to all life. However, the moon is now an inert world, devoid of any geological activity.
Once, though, the moon was anything but...

Music:
The Common Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Further Reading:


https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-hunt-for-earths-deep-hidden-oceans-20180711/

https://www.astrobio.net/also-in-news/wsu-researcher-sees-possibility-of-moon-life/amp/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2016/01/30/new-evidence-4-5-billion-year-old-impact-formed-moon/#7ecc4cc0a86e

https://earthsky.org/space/new-study-shows-how-the-moon-may-have-been-habitable-early-in-its-history

https://www.space.com/35018-mars-support-life-millions-years-curiosity-rover.html

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Moon animations: NASA/JPL, Universe Sandbox