It’s Time: Scientists Urge The World to Declare a New Epoch on The Moon

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A new paper by researchers at the University of Kansas argues that humans have become the dominant force shaping the moon’s environment. They propose declaring a new geological epoch for the moon called the Lunar Anthropocene. The epoch would start with the landing of Russia’s Luna 2 spacecraft in 1959. 

The researchers say that declaring a new epoch would help document and study human influence on the moon. They also point to planned missions and projects that could transform the moon’s surface in the coming years. 

As of July 2022, neither the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) nor the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) has officially approved the term “Anthropocene” as a recognized subdivision of geologic time.

The Moon is no longer pristine. We humans have been messing about up there for over half a century now, and our prints, dead equipment, crashed spacecraft, art, and even feces is speckled across its gray and cratered surface.

A team of scientists has proposed a new geological epoch for the moon called the “Lunar Anthropocene”. The term recognizes the significant impact that human activities have had on the moon’s landscape since 1959. The Lunar Anthropocene is inspired by the “Anthropocene” on Earth, which acknowledges the impact humans have had on the planet’s environment. 

The Lunar Anthropocene advocates for the preservation of lunar heritage and responsible future exploration. The co-authors of the paper are: Holcomb, Rolfe Mandel, Karl Wegmann. 

The current epoch on Earth is called the Holocene, which began 11,700 years ago after the last major ice age.

Now, according to anthropologists and geologists at the University of Kansas, it’s time to acknowledge humans have become the dominant force shaping the moon’s environment by declaring a new geological epoch for the moon: the Lunar Anthropocene

The Lunar Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch that indicates when humans began to have a significant impact on the Moon. The concept was proposed by researchers at the University of Kansas. 

The Lunar Anthropocene is a call to action to be mindful of our impact on the Moon. Researchers hope that the concept will dispel the myth that the Moon is barely impacted by humanity. 

The Anthropocene is the name given to the epoch in which humans began having a significant impact on Earth’s geology and ecosystems

The Moon’s geology is made up of: 

  • Composition: The Moon’s surface is made up of:
    • 43% oxygen 
    • 20% silicon 
    • 19% magnesium 
    • 10% iron 
    • 3% calcium 
    • 3% aluminum 
    • 0.42% chromium 
    • 0.18% titanium 
    • 0.12% manganese 
  • Crust and mantle: The Moon has a 50-km thick crust and a 1350-km thick mantle. 
  • Rocks: The Moon’s surface is made up of:
    • Basalts: Found in the maria, these rocks are rich in iron and titanium. 
    • Anorthosites: Found in the highlands, these rocks are rich in aluminum, calcium, and silicon. 
  • Lunar regolith: This is a rubble pile of rocky debris and powdery dust that covers almost the entire Moon. 
  • Megaregolith: This is a fractured bedrock region that lies beneath the lunar regolith. 

The Moon’s surface is divided into lunar terrae and lunar maria. The lunar maria were formed by volcanic flows that occurred billions of years ago. The Moon’s surface has remained unchanged since then. 

Humans first landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The first person to walk on the Moon was Neil Armstrong, commander of the U.S. mission Apollo 11. The last crewed mission to the Moon was Apollo 17

Here are some other Moon exploration missions: 

  • Lunokhod 1 The first robot lunar rover to land on the Moon, part of the Lunokhod program. 
  • Chandrayaan-1 India’s first mission to the Moon, launched in 2008. 
  • Artemis An ongoing program to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. 
  • Artemis III Planned for 2025, this mission will mark the first return to the lunar surface in more than 50 years. 

Other countries that have launched probes to the Moon include: Japan, China, India.

Here are some moon rovers: 

  • Lunokhod 1 The first robotic rover to land on the Moon. It was part of the Soviet Union’s Lunokhod program. 
  • Chandrayaan-1 India’s first mission to the Moon. It played a key role in discovering water molecules on the Moon. 
  • VIPER NASA’s Artemis lunar rover. It will land at the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 to search for ice and other resources. 
  • Roo-ver Australia’s first lunar rover. It will launch to the Moon in partnership with NASA and the Artemis program. 

Other moon rovers include: CubeRover, Lunar rover(full article source google)

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