The ancient moon volcano made tiny glass beads. That’s what they mean.

The tiny glass beads brought back NASAApollo 17 astronaut Helping scientists discover about how moon Breaking out billions of years ago.

At the time, no one would expect these glittering pieces. When ancient lunar volcanoes spew molten rocks, beads smaller than sand were formed. The rock quickly cooled and turned into cold glass space.

Now, using modern tools that weren’t available half a century ago after the mission, researchers have shrunk more than ever to see what’s outside those glass beads. They found a mineral powder – very good, you need a microscope to see it – during the fiery eruption, beads flew through huge air clouds.

These surface coatings reveal how the environment around volcanoes around the moon changes over time. A new study Published in journals Icarus. Brown-led research not only confirms the occurrence of lunar outbreaks, but also provides insight into how they take layer by layer (by crystal crystal). The results show that the moon has a more dynamic volcanic history than previously known changes in gas chemistry, temperature and pressure.

“It’s like reading an ancient lunar volcanologist’s journal,” said Ryan Ogliore, professor of Washington University, St. Louis. A statement.

When the moon was still young, when the moon was about 330 to 360 million years ago, glittering beads exploded from the inside of the moon.

Lava injection The sky without emptyit cools quickly into smooth glass droplets. Some come out with a shiny orange color. The black formed by others. Because of its origin, beads have different colors, shapes and chemical compositions than anything on Earth. But the existence of beads is evidence that the moon has exploded — similar to the stove in Hawaii today, Ogriol said.

“The beads are tiny primitive capsules inside the moon,” he added.

Unlike some older lunar samples, these delicate beads are protected from Earth’s air reaction to avoid pollution. Researchers are particularly concerned with black glass beads collected from part of the moon, called Taurus – Latro Valleya site on the southeast edge of the tranquil ocean, formed before a large object is shattered to the moon.

Lava erupts from lunar volcanoes to form glass beads that encounter different conditions depending on the volcanic gas clouds passing through their trajectory.
Image source: TA Williams et al. /iCarus 2025 Picture

The most common mineral found in coatings is pyroxene, which contains zinc, sulfur and iron. The bottom of the micro-building is rich in iron, meaning it is likely to form in a hotter and denser situation. As things cool down, the upper part forms.

The scientists found that the black beads had more zinc and sulfur minerals on them than the orange beads analyzed in early samples collected from the same area. This difference implies that when black beads form, the gas clouds are thicker or hotter.

To detect the samples, the team used a high-energy ion beam to break down tiny parts of the material, allowing scientists to measure its chemical composition. They also used other advanced technologies such as atomic probe tomography and electron microscopy.

“We’ve had these samples for 50 years, but we now have the technique to fully understand them,” Ogriol said. “When the beads were first collected, many of these instruments would be unimaginable.”