Study: Moon’s deep mantle rocks may be near Artemis landing sites
6 reported
Scientists using computer simulations have gained new insight into the ancient impact that created the Moon’s largest and oldest known crater, the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin. The research, led by the Center for Lunar Origin and Evolution (CLOE) at the Southwest Research Institute, suggests that a low-angle strike from a large, iron-cored object blasted material from deep inside the Moon, including mantle rocks. The simulations indicate the object approached from the north and struck at a shallow angle, producing the basin’s elongated shape. A companion study using high-resolution gravity measurements found that mantle-derived material is likely mixed throughout the basin and its ejecta blanket. The researchers concluded that some of this material may be present at trace levels in areas being considered for future NASA Artemis missions near the lunar south pole. The findings were published in Science Advances and the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
What’s reported
The South Pole-Aitken basin is the Moon’s largest and oldest known impact crater.
Computer simulations recreated the impact, showing a low-angle strike from a differentiated, iron-cored object.
The impact blasted material from the lunar crust and mantle into space, much of which fell back into the basin.
Gravity measurements indicate mantle-derived material is mixed throughout the basin and its ejecta blanket.
Later impacts inside the basin may have exposed some of this material at the surface.
Some of that material may exist in regions being considered for Artemis landings.
Key figures
Dr. William Bottke, director of CLOE and executive director of SwRI’s Science Directorate in Boulder, Colorado
Dr. Shigeru Wakita of Purdue University, lead author of the SPA impact study
Dr. Gabriel Gowman of the University of Arizona, lead author of the gravity-based study
Sources: ScienceDaily
