The Moon is our nearest neighbour, and the only other planetary body humans have ever set foot on. We have been exploring the Moon via manned and robotic missions for more than half a century, but there are still many parts of its history that we cannot explain. Given the relatively small size of the Moon, it is reasonable to assume it cooled down very quickly and has been geologically ‘dead’ for much of its history. However, a huge number of observations refute this assumption. Magnetic measurements on Apollo samples highlight that the Moon was able to generate its own magnetic field that was, for a time, even stronger than Earth’s magnetic field today. New chemical data from the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program suggests the Moon has had active volcanism, with lava flowing onto the surface for more than 3 billion years. In this talk, I will explore some newly revealed links between the volcanic and magnetic
history of the Moon and discuss how the upcoming Artemis missions can help us to understand more about some of the Moon’s most mysterious behaviour.
Claire Nichols is anAssociate Professor of the Geology of Planetary Processes at the University of Oxford and a Tutorial Fellow at St Edmund Hall. She specialises in planetary magnetism, studying early Earth and Moon history, and leads a lab focusing on rock magnetism and paleomagnetism to understand planetary habitability. She is also the 2026 Johannes Geiss Fellow at the International Space Science Institute.
