Study lays groundwork for classifying lunar soil

The article in the Soil Science Society of America Journal introduces a proposal for a classification framework for lunar soils. As humanity moves closer to establishing a sustainable presence on the moon, researchers are studying how lunar soils can provide valuable resources and even support food cultivation. This emerging field, known as planetary pedology, involves studying and classifying soils beyond Earth.

Currently, most knowledge about lunar soil is derived from satellite observations, which lack the detailed insights needed to identify optimal sites for infrastructure, resource extraction, and potential cultivation. Jérôme Juilleret, the lead author and an engineer in soil sciences and hydrology at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, believes that pedology's century-long expertise in classifying and mapping terrestrial soils can now aid future lunar exploration.

Previously, lunar soils were viewed as basic rock powder or dust due to their absence of biological activity. However, researchers now acknowledge that these soils possess unique structures and properties formed over billions of years through physical and chemical surface processes. While terrestrial soils have been systematically classified for over a century, no such framework exists for the moon.

The new study adapts pedology principles to lunar conditions, identifies soil-forming processes, and proposes a tailored classification system for lunar environments. By applying this framework to an Apollo 15 core collected in 1971, the researchers identified seven buried horizons that chronicle successive stages of lunar surface evolution.

This classification system enables future explorers to systematically describe, map, and compare lunar regolith, providing crucial information for selecting optimal sites for infrastructure, resource extraction, and potential cultivation as sustainable human habitation on the moon progresses.