Fact #020
Missions
Moondust smells like spent gunpowder. Apollo crews tracked it into the lander and noticed immediately.
Nobody has fully explained it. The dust is freshly fractured rock that has never met oxygen or water, so the moment it hits humid cabin air it starts reacting. Whatever the chemistry, the smell faded once the samples reached Earth, the sealed containers that came home don't smell of anything much.
Source: Apollo crew debriefs, NASA (opens in a new tab) · checked Aug 2026