New data is forcing scientists to reassess long-dismissed ideas.

For decades, the Moon was considered one of the least likely places to host life of any kind. Its lack of atmosphere, liquid water, and geological activity seemed to settle the question long ago. But new findings from recent lunar missions and reanalyzed data are complicating that assumption. Scientists say the discoveries do not confirm life, but they do reopen questions about chemical activity, subsurface environments, and whether the Moon may be more dynamic, and more mysterious, than previously believed.



