China's Chang’e-6 mission uncovers evidence of rust on the moon

China’s Chang’e-6 mission has uncovered unexpected evidence of iron rust on the moon, challenging the long-held belief that the lunar surface lacks the oxygen necessary for iron oxidation. Analysis of lunar soil samples revealed micrometre-scale crystals of hematite and maghemite—both iron oxide minerals—indicating that rust formation is an intrinsic part of the moon’s geology. This discovery, published in Science Advances by a team led by Shandong University and supported by Chinese scientific institutions, suggests previously unknown surface processes have influenced the moon for billions of years. The finding overturns decades of scientific consensus, which held that iron oxides could not remain stable on the moon and were likely contaminants from Earth. Recent remote sensing data and analyses of lunar samples, including those from Chang’e-5, had already hinted at iron oxidation occurring on the moon, particularly at high latitudes. The Chang’e-6 samples, collected from the South Pole–Aitken basin—one of the oldest and largest impact bas