In general, people believe that these traces will last indefinitely along with the moon’s existence, as there is no wind and negligible water, meaning they won’t be destroyed by erosion. However, this is not true.
Scientists have studied the extreme temperature fluctuations (-107 degrees Celsius during the day and -153 degrees Celsius at night) that cause the surface soil on the moon to expand and contract. They found that the top meter of the lunar surface will be completely disturbed within 10,000 years. According to physicist John Mills, the footprints left by American astronauts when they walked on the moon from 1969 to 1972 will last about 100 years, which means they will be visible until around 2070.
