the moon smells

just watched a programme on b.b.c.2......think it was days the world stood still or something........anyway this one was about the moon landing and something was said and i have a question......the narrator said "when the astronauts got back into the capsule and took their helmets off aldrin noticed a strange odour"."it smelt like wet ashes in the fireplace"."this is what moondust smells like".it was on their boots...........why does moondust smell?is it possible to have a smell without once having an atmosphere?.

maybe someone farted...lol...i dunno..iv never heard of that before but it sounds interesting...maybe the moondust reacted with the enviroment inside thier capsule and let off a smell...dont take my word for that.....im a business student...Im not a scieince wiz...see i cant even spell it..lol...well anyways...maybe someone with more of a science background could answer your question.
Deep

A substance can't be devoid of a smell just because it's come from a place with low air pressure or no atmosphere. The chemical composition hasn't changed. Your olfactory nervous system will pick up on the smell of something if you are in a pressurised, helmetless environment where you can use your nose.

A substance can't be devoid of a smell just because it's come from a place with low air pressure or no atmosphere. The chemical composition hasn't changed. Your olfactory nervous system will pick up on the smell of something if you are in a pressurised, helmetless environment where you can use your nose.

Yeah thats what i was trying to say too...jk..thats a good explanation.

thanks masked..........do they know from the chemical composition of the dust how it came to be there.they said the bootprints will be undisturbed for millions of years so it hasnt moved for a while but how was it formed?was it formed in an atmosphere or is it natural corrosion due to being in the enviroment its in?.

This is kind of like the tree in the forest thingy...did it smell when there were no noses around? or did it start smelling once they got there!

Hey, cat, would you suspect all those times asteroids and meteors and all that stuff slamming into it, leaving large holes might have made a bit of dust? I dunno, I'm just wondering. Hvae enough trouble keeping my own house straight without worrying about moondust!

hi thomas.....yea i did think that but that means there was no dust until the first one struck i suppose and when the barrage started it spread evenly over the whole surface.it is spread evenly isnt it or does it get deeper in places.anyway thanks i now know it can smell and sort of how it got there.

Originally posted by squintingcat
..........why does moondust smell?is it possible to have a smell without once having an atmosphere?.

C'mon,

Everyone knows it's made out of cheese!

yes mate.......still dont know completly what it means or why indeed the cow jumped over it but im sure someone here has a theory about it.

[Edited on 13-6-2003 by squintingcat]