A surprising discovery on the Moon could provide a crucial vision of the early history of the planet. He Sur-Itken Pole BasinThe oldest and oldest impact crater on the Moon can contain remains of an old Magma Ocean, offering an unprecedented vision of the lunar mantle. Crew members of the next Artemis mission It could be the first to bring samples of this mysterious region to Earth, potentially unlocking the secrets of the formation of the moon and its connection with the birth of the earth itself.
The impact that changed everything
About 4.3 billion years ago, a large object crashed into the Moon, forming the South-Ten Pole Basin. This violent impact excavated parts of the moon cortex, revealing the mantle underneath. What is extraordinary is that the impact material can contact the moon traces Magma ocean in late stage—The molten layer that covered the surface of the planet during its years of training.
“We propose the South-Iitken Pole [impactor] He excavated a thin Magma Ocean in the late stage, “he said Jeff Andrews-HannaA planetary scientist at the University of Arizona. This material is critical because it could provide valuable data on how the Moon’s mantle evolved and crystallized in the first days of the Solar System.
A different perspective on the basin
Scientists have long known about the South-Aken Pole Basin, but a new research offers a new perspective on its form and the impact that created it. “He simply took a different perspective to see the basin in this way,” Andrews-Hanna explained. The unusual elongated form of the basin suggests a oblique impactWhere the impactor hit the moon at an angle, instead of ahead.
The basin is crucial because it has clues about the final stages of the Magma lunar ocean. Andrews-Hanna and his team suggest that the material found inside the basin could allow scientists to track the cooling and crystallization of the early molten surface of the Moon.
Unlocking the secrets of the lunar mantle
During the formation of the solar system, the Moon’s mantle was initially molten. When he began to cool, low density minerals It floated the surface, forming the cortex, while the densest materials sank. These first processes are considered the “smoking gun” of the Magma Ocean. Traces of materials such as potassium, elements of rare and phosphorus (known as Kreep) They left behind in the merger, and the South-Itken Pole Basin could sustain them.
The material found in the basin could also provide information on the regions of the moon that have not yet been explored. Combined with data from other areas of the Moon, this could give scientists a clearer image of the internal structure of the moon and how it evolved for thousands of millions of years.
Artemis: a new era of lunar exploration
He Artemis missionsPlanned to land astronauts on the Moon in 2026, will offer the first opportunity to collect these critical samples. Astronauts could collect mantle material, helping to answer questions about the Magma lunar ocean and his role in the formation of the moon. Comparison of these samples with those collected from the PROCELLARUM KREEP TERRAN (PKT), which was shown during the Apollo missions, will offer a unique comparison between the lunar mantle in different stages in its evolution.
“The spa (South-Itken Polo) will give us a precise age for this crystallization of the Magma Ocean in the late stage captured by the impact,” said Andrews-Hanna, underlining the importance of these samples to understand the history of the moon and its connection with the earth.
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