---
title: "Bad News: The Moon Is Surprisingly Radioactive"
description: "For the first time, scientists say they've ascertained how radioactive the Moon is — a finding that could have implications for the future of space travel."
date: "2020-09-25"
modified: "2020-09-25"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/moon-surprisingly-radioactive"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Moon"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "moon"
  - "radiation"
  - "space"
  - "the digest"
---

# Bad News: The Moon Is Surprisingly Radioactive

![For the first time, scientists say they've ascertained how radioactive the Moon is — a finding that could have implications for the future of space travel.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/moon-surprisingly-radioactive.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Futurism\</em\>*

## Atomic Age

For the first time, [*CNN* reports](<https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/world/moon-radiation-astronauts-exposure-scn/index.html>), scientists say they've ascertained how radioactive the Moon is — a finding that could have implications for the future of human space travel there.

The new data, collected by China's Chang'e 4 rover, shows a lot more radiation than you'd deal with on Earth or even the International Space Station. But it's still likely a level at which some exposure, for the limited duration of a Moon trip, could still be safe.

## Rad-X

Experts were quick to contextualize the finding of 1,369 microsieverts of radiation, [published in](<https://advances.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aaz1334>) the journal *Science Advances*.

"The radiation levels we measured on the Moon are about 200 times higher than on the surface of the Earth and 5 to 10 times higher than on a flight from New York to Frankfurt," said University of Kiel physicist Robert Wimmer-Schweingruber, who worked on the research, in a statement. "Because astronauts would be exposed to these radiation levels longer than passengers or pilots on transatlantic flights, this is a considerable exposure."

## Moon Boots

Though [*CNN* reports](<https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/world/moon-radiation-astronauts-exposure-scn/index.html>) that the Apollo astronauts brought equipment to measure the radiation level on the moon, the data never made it back to Earth.

Now, though, as NASA plans out its Artemis missions with the goal of sending astronauts back to the Moon, it's valuable to know what future astronauts will be dealing with when they return.

**READ MORE:** [Radiation on moon's surface measured for the first time, study says](<https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/world/moon-radiation-astronauts-exposure-scn/index.html>) \[*CNN*\]

**More on minimoons:** *[Astronomers: Our Planet Might Have Another Moon, Except It’s Tiny](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronomers-earth-new-moon-tiny>)*

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)