Scientists propose searching Moon for extraterrestrial technological traces

A team of scientists associated with the SETI Institute is proposing a new method to search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence by examining lunar regolith. The research, currently undergoing peer review for the International Journal of Astrobiology, suggests that microscopic particles from advanced technological civilizations could have traveled through the solar system and deposited on the Moon's surface.

Because the Moon lacks an atmosphere, rain, and significant geological activity, it serves as a stable environment that could preserve such debris for long periods. The proposed mission involves collecting and analyzing approximately one cubic meter of lunar dust and rock to identify physical or chemical anomalies, such as unknown alloys, unusual elemental concentrations, or artificial structures that do not match the Moon's natural composition.

Lead researcher Lewis Pinault, an affiliate of the SETI Institute and a researcher at Birkbeck College, University of London, noted that if a technological civilization has existed in the galaxy, it is not an unrealistic hypothesis that particles of its remains could be present on the Moon. The study models how infrastructure from advanced societies might erode into tiny particles, similar to how satellites shed microscopic material into space.