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Exotic clasts in Chang'e-5 regolith indicative of unexplored terrane on the Moon TEXT SIZE: A A A

The 2-Gyr-old Chang'e-5 samples are the youngest lunar basaltic regolith returned to Earth and can provide information on the lithological diversity and regolith gardening processes at young mare regions on the Moon over a hitherto unexplored time window. Here we study the lithology and composition of over 3,000 Chang'e-5 regolith particles less than 2 mm in size and identify 7 exotic igneous clasts: a high-Ti vitrophyric fragment, a low-Ti basalt, an olivine-pyroxenite, a magnesian anorthosite, an evolved lithology, a Mg-rich olivine fragment and a pyroclastic glass bead. We associate them with impact-ejected materials from other regions of the Moon, over 50-400 km away from the Chang'e-5 mare unit. In particular, the pyroclastic bead records a volcanic eruption on the Moon with unique chemical composition, suggesting the presence of additional and yet-unrecognized lunar volcanic eruptions. The significantly lower amount of exotic material in the Chang'e-5 samples (similar to 0.2%) with respect to expectations (similar to 10-20%) might indicate that current modelling of impact ejecta needs to be revisited for young lunar geological units.

 

Publication name

 Nature Astronomy, DOI 10.1038/s41550-022-01840-7, Early Access DEC 2022

Author(s)

 Zeng, Xiaojia; Li, Xiongyao; Liu, Jianzhong

Corresponding author(s) 

 Li, Xiongyao; Liu, Jianzhong
 lixiongyao@vip.skleg.cn; liujianzhong@mail.gyig.ac.cn
 -Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geochem, Ctr Lunar & Planetary Sci, Guiyang, Peoples R China

 -CAS Ctr Excellence Comparat Planetol, Hefei, Peoples R China

 -Chinese Acad Sci, Key Lab Space Mfg Technol, Beijing, Peoples R China

Author(s) from IGCAS   Li, Xiongyao; Liu, Jianzhong; Zeng, Xiaojia

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