The age of the Moon may be incorrect, writes Ferra.ru. The Earth's moon may be tens of millions of years older, according to scientists who studied lunar dust crystals returned by the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Studies of lunar soil samples were carried out using atom probe tomography, which makes it possible to determine the age of atoms in crystals. According to new data, the Moon may be about 4.46 billion years old, which is 40 million more than previously thought.

The new age of the Earth's satellite fits well with the theory about the terrestrial origin of the Moon as a result of the collision of our planet with a celestial body the size of Mars.