NASA astronauts were the first to walk on the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s, and discovered previously unknown features of the Moon. That is, it has an atmosphere, though it is relatively fragile. But NASA's Apollo missions have returned samples from the Moon.
Recently, a planetary scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States revealed a new analysis that two elements, potassium and rubidium, were present in nine small soil samples taken from five Apollo missions. The scientists explain that meteorite impacts caused temperatures of 2,000-6,000 degrees Fahrenheit to melt and vaporize the lunar surface. This is similar to the heat that causes water vapor to evaporate and release atoms into the atmosphere. The scientists conclude that the lunar atmosphere was created and maintained primarily by large and small meteorites striking the lunar surface.
In 2013, NASA sent the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) robotic spacecraft to orbit the moon to study the atmosphere and environment. Scientists have discovered that the solar wind carries high-energy charged particles, most of which are protons, that travel through space when these particles collide with the moon. The particles then transfer energy to atoms on the moon’s surface. This causes these particles to be ejected from the surface.
