Wait—did you know the Moon is actually rusting?! That’s right, scientists are stunned after finding real evidence of rust—yes, the kind you find on an old bike—covering parts of the Moon, especially near its poles. But here's the mind-blower: the Moon isn’t supposed to have the two key ingredients for rust—water and oxygen. So how is this even possible?

This cosmic mystery began when planetary scientists, led by Ziliang Jin from Macau University of Science and Technology, spotted haematite (a reddish form of iron oxide, aka rust) on the Moon’s surface. Their findings, published in Geophysical Research Letters, sent shockwaves through the space community, because the Moon is basically bone-dry and wrapped in a vacuum, making rust about as likely as finding a snowman in the Sahara.

So what’s going on? The research team dove deep and discovered that Earth might be giving the Moon a little help. Here’s how: normally, charged particles from the Sun, known as solar wind, bombard both Earth and the Moon. But about five days every month, Earth steps between the two and blocks most of this solar wind. During this time, the Moon is exposed to a different stream of particles—ones from our own atmosphere—a phenomenon scientists now call the ‘Earth wind’.

The Earth's magnetic field, or 'magnetotail,' plays a huge role, acting like a cosmic umbrella. It blocks much of the Sun’s hydrogen-rich wind from reaching the Moon. With less hydrogen hitting the surface (hydrogen normally stops rust), suddenly there’s a window where oxygen sneaking over from Earth can react with iron on the Moon—just enough to create patches of rust.

To test this mind-bending theory, researchers ran lab simulations, blasting iron-rich lunar minerals with high-energy oxygen and hydrogen ions just like out in space. When hit with oxygen, some minerals turned into haematite. But when they added hydrogen, the rusting reversed, confirming how critical this balance is. Planetary scientist Shuai Li, whose team ran the 2020 experiment, called it ‘a great experiment’ that finally explains the earlier Chandrayaan-1 findings—India’s 2008 Moon mission that first glimpsed these rusty spots.

Why does this matter? For anyone dreaming of living or working on the Moon, understanding how and why rust forms could impact everything from building habitats to mining resources. The study, titled ‘Earth wind-driven formation of haematite on the lunar surface,’ even hints at a hidden, ongoing exchange of particles between Earth and our lunar neighbor—suggesting we’re more connected to the Moon than we ever imagined. Now that’s an AI generated newscast about Moon rust you didn’t see coming.