The image was taken with a light microscope. Nelson et al., 2021.
New information about the Moon's cooling and evolutionary history was revealed by the analysis of a rock sample taken during the Apollo 17 mission. The findings were published in Nature Communications.
The rock sample troctolite 76535 was collected by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972 and is one of the most valuable samples of the Moon. The rock type is widespread on the Moon and likely contains important clues to understanding lunar formation.
William Nelson is a graduate student in the UH Mnoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.
Nelson said that previous reports suggest the minerals in the Apollo 17 sample were chemically homogeneity. We found chemical variations in the olivine and plagioclase. We can use numerical models to constrain the earliest, high-temperature cooling histories of these minerals.
SOEST researchers used the UH High-Performance Computing facilities to look at the effects of cooling paths on models.
The moon. Credit: NASA.
Nelson said that the simulations showed that the Heterogeneities could only survive a short time at high temperatures.
The cooling history of the mineral grains was consistent with a rapid cooling history of no more than 20 million years at high temperatures. The finding supports the rapid cooling of the moon's magmas.
Nelson said that the outlook on how an important suite of lunar rocks formed is changing.
The research team proposed that the rock type may be formed by a process called reactive infiltration, in which a melt interacts with the rock, changing its chemical and physical makeup.
A map of the X-ray intensity of olivine shows a truncation and sharp phosphorus Heterogeneities. Nelson et al., 2021.
The study shows how quickly new data can change our understanding of planetary evolution and how re-examining previously analyzed samples can help.
The research team is looking at how quickly phosphorus can diffuse in olivine crystals. They are looking for similar Heterogeneities in other Apollo samples.
William S. Nelson and his team show early rapid cooling of Apollo Troctolite 76535 in Nature Communications. There is a DOI of 10.1038/s41467-021-2
Nature Communications is a journal.
The analysis of the Apollo sample illuminates the evolution of the moon.
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