During the Apollo missions, millions of microscopic orange-black glass crystals aged 3.3–3.6 billion years were discovered on the surface of the Moon. These beads were formed as a result of explosive volcanic emissions in the vacuum of the lunar surface, UNN reports with reference to Universe Today.
Details
According to scientists, the found "beads" are specimens, each of which is less than 1 mm in size. These objects remained unchanged in the cold vacuum for more than 3 billion years.
Volcanic eruptions threw molten material from the depths to the surface, where it almost instantly cooled and solidified into colored glass – orange or black.
[Samples of "beads"] are some of the most amazing extraterrestrial objects we have. These beads are tiny, untouched capsules of the lunar interior. The very existence of these beads proves that there were explosive eruptions on the Moon, similar to lava fountains in Hawaii today
Advanced methods were used to study the samples – atomic probe tomography, scanning electron and transmission microscopy, as well as energy-dispersive IR analysis.
The NanoSIMS 50 device helped to study the beads under protection from oxygen and moisture of the Earth.
Reference
These crystals come from the Taurus-Littrow region, where the Apollo 17 astronauts arrived. The project was led by researchers from Brown University and Washington University, and the study was published in the journal Icarus