Earth’s atmosphere sheds onto the moon via the solar wind
When the Apollo astronauts brought back samples of the lunar soil, analysis revealed volatile (easily vaporized) substances, including water, carbon dioxide, helium, argon and nitrogen. Some of these particles come from the sun. But others, such as the nitrogen, must come from Earth. A 2005 study from the University of Tokyo suggested this could have occurred only before Earth had a magnetic field. But on December 11, 2025, a new study from the University of Rochester in New York said the magnetic field lines actually help funnel the particles from Earth’s atmosphere onto the lunar surface.
The particles could be useful for future human explorers visiting or living on the moon. And they also help reveal the long-term record of Earth’s atmosphere.
The researchers, led by Shubhonkar Paramanick of the University of Rochester, published their study in the peer-reviewed journal Communication Earth and Environment on December 11, 2025.
Magnetic field lines transport Earth’s atmosphere
Originally, researchers thought Earth’s magnetic field would help keep our planet’s atmosphere from shedding. But the new research shows the magnetic field lines instead help to transport material away from Earth. The researchers used advanced computer simulations to model situations that would explain how the lunar soil – or regolith – acquired elements from Earth. One model represented an early Earth with no magnetic field and a solar wind that’s stronger than it is today. The other model represented a modern Earth with a magnetic field and weaker solar wind.
The scenario that best showed the particle transfer that matches the soil samples from Apollo is the modern Earth model. The solar wind hits Earth and knocks loose some of the atmosphere’s charged particles. Those particles spiral along magnetic field lines. And some of those magnetic field lines reach all the way to the moon. So, for billions of years, Earth’s atmosphere has been shedding tiny pieces of itself onto the lunar surface.
Preserving Earth on the moon
The study opens up two interesting windows of future research. One is that the lunar soil appears to hold a record of Earth’s history. Researcher Eric Blackman of the University of Rochester said:
By combining data from particles preserved in lunar soil with computational modeling of how solar wind interacts with Earth’s atmosphere, we can trace the history of Earth’s atmosphere and its magnetic field.
Furthermore, the press release said:
Studying lunar soil could therefore give scientists a rare window into how Earth’s climate, oceans and even life evolved over billions of years.
And the study also provides some insight into those investigating a future of human occupation on the moon. The steady stream of earthly particles onto the lunar surface suggests there are more volatiles there than first thought. And that might mean there are more resources available for humans that originally suspected.
Additionally, Paramanick said:
Our study may also have broader implications for understanding early atmospheric escape on planets like Mars, which lacks a global magnetic field today but had one similar to Earth in the past, along with a likely thicker atmosphere. By examining planetary evolution alongside atmospheric escape across different epochs, we can gain insight into how these processes shape planetary habitability.
Bottom line: Researchers found Earth’s atmosphere sheds onto the lunar surface thanks to the solar wind stripping particles, which then spiral along magnetic field lines.
Source: Terrestrial atmospheric ion implantation occurred in the nearside lunar regolith during the history of Earth’s dynamo
Via University of Rochester
Read more: Artemis 2 to return humans to lunar orbit in 2026