Picture this: you’re a microorganism on the surface of the earth, over 120 million years ago. Earth looks a little different to how it does now; for starters, buildings didn’t exist, the only superstructures were those made of termites.

However, the days were still marked by the sun, the nights still marked by the moon.

But unlike the stable grey moon that we know and love, the moon in prehistoric times was a little more lively.

A recent study, conducted by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Science and published in the journal Science, has examined soil samples collected by China’s Chang’e-5 moon mission, finding evidence of some significant geological activity in the moon’s history.

By identifying approximately 3000 glass beads in the soil, the research team – led by Professor Bi-Wen Wang – found three beads containing isotopes that suggest they were produced by volcanoes, as explained by co-author Professor Yuyuang He in an interview with IFLScience:

“We investigated ~3,000 glass beads in lunar soil samples collected by the Chang’e-5 mission and identified three volcanic glass beads based on their textures, major- and trace-element compositions, and in situ sulfur isotope analyses.”

Glass beads in soil can be created by many different pressurising forces: one of these is volcanic eruptions. The intense heat and pressure of a volcanic eruption can cause these glass beads to form. Over thousands of years, these have become integrated in the soil, leading to their presence in the soil sample taken by the Chang’e-5 mission.

Once the glass beads had been identified in the soil, the research team used different measurements, to identify the composition and isotopes of the beads, which would help them to pick out which glass beads were formed by volcanoes, and which were caused by some kind of other impact.

Processes of radiometric dating were then undertaken, which proved that the beads were over 120 million years old, as Professor He describes:

“Uranium-lead dating of the three volcanic glass beads shows that they formed 123 ± 15 million years ago, which is the youngest lunar volcanism confirmed by radioisotope dating so far.”

With this new information, adding to our previous knowledge of the presence of volcanic gases – thought to originate from magma fountains – on the moon, evidences the historic presence of volcanoes on our moon.

This information generated even more questions for the researchers: how old were the volcanoes? How powerful were they? When did they stop erupting?

In the study, the researchers explain the timescale of the volcanic activity, and its suspected source. They note that the particular isotopes found in the glass beads prove that volcanoes did indeed contribute to the atmosphere and surface of the moon, as well as previously warming it from the inside:

“Igneous rocks on the Moon demonstrate that it experienced extensive volcanism, with the most recent precisely dated volcanic lunar rocks being 2 billion years old. The results indicate recent lunar volcanism that is not predicted by thermal models.”

In the interview, Professor He explains that this new evidence challenges science’s previous theories around the moon and its geology.

While the eruptions, it seems, weren’t particularly large, they were present a lot later than expected:

“Basaltic volcanism persisted to at least 2.0 Ga. It was expected that lunar volcanic glass beads should be older than 2.0 Ga. There is a ~1.9-billion-year gap between eruptions recorded at the landing site, and it is unclear how the Moon could have remained volcanically active at such a late stage.”

Of the 3,000 glass beads used in the study, only 3 of these were deemed to be volcanic in origin; future research may provide even more answers about the volcanic activity on our moon. The geology of its surface will surely be a fascinating topic long into the future.

We may not have all the answers about the volcanoes, but the study has cleared one thing up: the moon is definitely not made of cheese.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.