Crystals brought back by astronauts from Moon suggest the satellite is much older than thought

CRYSTALS brought back by astronauts in 1972 suggest the Moon is millions of years older than had been thought.

It was formed when a giant object the size of Mars crashed into Earth and caused a piece to break off more than four billion years ago.

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Researchers have now determined the age of the lunar dust samples from the Apollo 17 mission.

And their discovery pushes back the Moon’s age by 40 million years, to at least 4.46billion.

Senior study author Professor Philipp Heck, of the University of Chicago, said: “These crystals are the oldest known solids that formed after the giant impact.

“And because we know how old these crystals are, they serve as an anchor for the lunar chronology.”

He added: “It’s amazing being able to have proof that the rock you’re holding is the oldest bit of the Moon we’ve found so far.

“It’s an anchor point for so many questions about the Earth.

“When you know how old something is, you can better understand what has happened to it in its history.”

The crystals are from the last crewed mission to the Moon.

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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk