Apollo 17 astronauts' rock collection unveils moon's true age, 40 million years older than believed

Lunar dust collected by Apollo 17 astronauts in the 1970s has revealed that the moon is 40 million years older than previously believed. A new analysis of the collected sample detected zircon crystals and dated them to 4.46 billion years old, indicating that the moon must also be at least that old. The findings provide valuable insights into the moon's formation and its role in stabilizing Earth's rotational axis and tides. The study marks the first use of atom probe tomography to determine the age of the crystals, shedding light on the moon's true age.