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When astronauts walked on the Moon, they discovered something scientists hadn’t fully expected: lunar dust was dangerously sharp.Unlike Earth dust, which is rounded by wind and water, Moon dust is the result of billions of years of micrometeorite impacts. Each grain is jagged like shattered glass.Charles Duke (Apollo 16) recalled how the dust clung to everything—spacesuits, visors, tools. It even began to wear down the outer layers of the astronauts’ gloves, cutting into the protective material. Eugene Cernan of Apollo 17 described the dust as “everywhere, sticking to your skin, your nails, your hair… impossible to brush off.”Inside the lunar module, the dust smelled like gunpowder and irritated their eyes and throats. What was meant to be the symbol of mankind’s greatest achievement also revealed the hidden danger of exploration: the smallest things can be the most threatening.