Constraining the Evolutionary History of the Moon and the Inner Solar System: A Case for New Returned Lunar Samples

Romain Tartèse; Mahesh Anand; Jérôme Gattacceca; Katherine H. Joy; James I. Mortimer; John F. Pernet-Fisher; Sara Russell; Joshua F. Snape; Benjamin P. Weiss

doi:10.1007/s11214-019-0622-x

Constraining the Evolutionary History of the Moon and the Inner Solar System: A Case for New Returned Lunar Samples

Romain Tartèse^*
, Mahesh Anand
, Jérôme Gattacceca
, Katherine H. Joy
, James I. Mortimer
, John F. Pernet-Fisher
, Sara Russell
, Joshua F. Snape
, Benjamin P. Weiss

^*Corresponding author for this work

Geology and Geochemistry

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The Moon is the only planetary body other than the Earth for which samples have been collected in situ by humans and robotic missions and returned to Earth. Scientific investigations of the first lunar samples returned by the Apollo 11 astronauts 50 years ago transformed the way we think most planetary bodies form and evolve. Identification of anorthositic clasts in Apollo 11 samples led to the formulation of the magma ocean concept, and by extension the idea that the Moon experienced large-scale melting and differentiation. This concept of magma oceans would soon be applied to other terrestrial planets and large asteroidal bodies. Dating of basaltic fragments returned from the Moon also showed that a relatively small planetary body could sustain volcanic activity for more than a billion years after its formation. Finally, studies of the lunar regolith showed that in addition to containing a treasure trove of the Moon’s history, it also provided us with a rich archive of the past 4.5 billion years of evolution of the inner Solar System. Further investigations of samples returned from the Moon over the past five decades led to many additional discoveries, but also raised new and fundamental questions that are difficult to address with currently available samples, such as those related to the age of the Moon, duration of lunar volcanism, the lunar paleomagnetic field and its intensity, and the record on the Moon of the bombardment history during the first billion years of evolution of the Solar System. In this contribution, we review the information we currently have on some of the key science questions related to the Moon and discuss how future sample-return missions could help address important knowledge gaps.

Original language	English
Article number	54
Pages (from-to)	1-50
Number of pages	50
Journal	Space Science Reviews
Volume	215
Issue number	8
Early online date	2 Dec 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-019-0622-x
Publication status	Published - Dec 2019

Funding

We thank the organisers of the “Role of Sample Return in Addressing Major Outstanding Questions in Planetary Sciences” workshop that took place at the International Space Science Institute in Bern in February 2018. Jim Head and two anonymous reviewers are thanked for their thorough and insightful evaluation of this manuscript. For financial support, we are grateful to the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) (grants ST/P005225/1 to RT, ST/M001253/1 to KHJ, and ST/P000657/1 to MA), the Royal Society (grant RS/UF140190 to KHJ), the European Commission Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellowship grant 794287 to JFS), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (project Maglune ANR-14-CE33-0012 to JG), the NASA Solar System Workings program (grant NNX15AL62G to BPW) and the NASA Solar System Exploration Virtual Institute (grant NNA14AB01A to BPW). 1 This δ D \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$\delta D$\end{document} notation corresponds to the per mil deviation of a measured D / H \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$D/H$\end{document} ratio from that of the Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water ( VSMOW − D / H = 1.5576 × 10 − 4 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$\mathit{VSMOW} - D/H = 1.5576 \times 10^{-4}$\end{document} ), given by [ ( D / H ) sample / ( D / H ) VSMOW − 1 ] × 1000 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$[(D/H)_{\mathit{sample}}/(D/H)_{\mathit{VSMOW}} - 1] \times 1000$\end{document} . 2 This δ 13 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$\delta ^{13}$\end{document} C notation corresponds to the per mil deviation of a measured 13 C/ 12 C ratio from that of the Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite ( VPDB − 13 C / 12 C = 0.0112 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$\mathit{VPDB} - {}^{13}\mbox{C}/{}^{12}\mbox{C} = 0.0112$\end{document} ), given by [ ( 13 C / 12 C ) sample / ( 13 C / 12 C ) VPDB − 1 ] × 1000 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$[({}^{13}\mbox{C}/{}^{12}\mbox{C})_{\mathit{sample}}/({}^{13}\mbox{C}/{}^{12}\mbox{C})_{\mathit{VPDB}} - 1] \times 1000$\end{document} . 3 This δ 15 N \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$\delta ^{15}\mbox{N}$\end{document} notation corresponds to the per mil deviation of a measured 15 N/ 14 N ratio from that of the terrestrial air ( AIR − 15 N / 14 N = 0.003676 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$\mathit{AIR} -{}^{15}\mbox{N}/{}^{14}\mbox{N} = 0.003676$\end{document} ), given by [ ( 15 N / 14 N ) sample / ( 15 N / 14 N ) AIR − 1 ] × 1000 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$[({}^{15}\mbox{N}/{}^{14}\mbox{N})_{\mathit{sample}}/({}^{15}\mbox{N}/{}^{14}\mbox{N})_{\mathit{AIR}} - 1] \times 1000$\end{document} . 4 This δ 18 O \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$\delta ^{18} O$\end{document} notation corresponds to the per mil deviation of a measured 18 O/ 16 O ratio from that of the Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water ( VSMOW − 18 O / 16 O = 2.005 × 10 − 3 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$\mathit{VSMOW} - {}^{18}\mbox{O}/{}^{16}\mbox{O} = 2.005 \times 10^{- 3}$\end{document} ), given by [ ( 18 O / 16 O ) sample / ( 18 O / 16 O ) VSMOW − 1 ] × 1000 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$[({}^{18}\mbox{O}/{}^{16}\mbox{O})_{\mathit{sample}}/ ({}^{18}\mbox{O}/{}^{16}\mbox{O})_{\mathit{VSMOW}} - 1] \times 1000$\end{document} . We thank the organisers of the ?Role of Sample Return in Addressing Major Outstanding Questions in Planetary Sciences? workshop that took place at the International Space Science Institute in Bern in February 2018. Jim Head and two anonymous reviewers are thanked for their thorough and insightful evaluation of this manuscript. For financial support, we are grateful to the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) (grants ST/P005225/1 to RT, ST/M001253/1 to KHJ, and ST/P000657/1 to MA), the Royal Society (grant RS/UF140190 to KHJ), the European Commission Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme (Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions Fellowship grant 794287 to JFS), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (project Maglune ANR-14-CE33-0012 to JG), the NASA Solar System Workings program (grant NNX15AL62G to BPW) and the NASA Solar System Exploration Virtual Institute (grant NNA14AB01A to BPW).

Funders	Funder number
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellowship grant
European Commission Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme
Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute	NNA14AB01A
Royal Society	RS/UF140190
Science and Technology Facilities Council	ST/P000657/1, ST/P005225/1, ST/M001253/1
Agence Nationale de la Recherche	ANR-14-CE33-0012
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme	794287
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	NNX15AL62G

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 14 Life Below Water

Keywords

Earth-Moon system
Lunar evolution
Sample-return
Solar System

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10.1007/s11214-019-0622-x

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Cite this

@article{5865516d30f64e86baf9e875ef45af94,

title = "Constraining the Evolutionary History of the Moon and the Inner Solar System: A Case for New Returned Lunar Samples",

abstract = "The Moon is the only planetary body other than the Earth for which samples have been collected in situ by humans and robotic missions and returned to Earth. Scientific investigations of the first lunar samples returned by the Apollo 11 astronauts 50 years ago transformed the way we think most planetary bodies form and evolve. Identification of anorthositic clasts in Apollo 11 samples led to the formulation of the magma ocean concept, and by extension the idea that the Moon experienced large-scale melting and differentiation. This concept of magma oceans would soon be applied to other terrestrial planets and large asteroidal bodies. Dating of basaltic fragments returned from the Moon also showed that a relatively small planetary body could sustain volcanic activity for more than a billion years after its formation. Finally, studies of the lunar regolith showed that in addition to containing a treasure trove of the Moon{\textquoteright}s history, it also provided us with a rich archive of the past 4.5 billion years of evolution of the inner Solar System. Further investigations of samples returned from the Moon over the past five decades led to many additional discoveries, but also raised new and fundamental questions that are difficult to address with currently available samples, such as those related to the age of the Moon, duration of lunar volcanism, the lunar paleomagnetic field and its intensity, and the record on the Moon of the bombardment history during the first billion years of evolution of the Solar System. In this contribution, we review the information we currently have on some of the key science questions related to the Moon and discuss how future sample-return missions could help address important knowledge gaps.",

keywords = "Earth-Moon system, Lunar evolution, Sample-return, Solar System",

author = "Romain Tart{\`e}se and Mahesh Anand and J{\'e}r{\^o}me Gattacceca and Joy, \{Katherine H.\} and Mortimer, \{James I.\} and Pernet-Fisher, \{John F.\} and Sara Russell and Snape, \{Joshua F.\} and Weiss, \{Benjamin P.\}",

year = "2019",

month = dec,

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language = "English",

volume = "215",

pages = "1--50",

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issn = "0038-6308",

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T1 - Constraining the Evolutionary History of the Moon and the Inner Solar System

T2 - A Case for New Returned Lunar Samples

AU - Tartèse, Romain

AU - Anand, Mahesh

AU - Gattacceca, Jérôme

AU - Joy, Katherine H.

AU - Mortimer, James I.

AU - Pernet-Fisher, John F.

AU - Russell, Sara

AU - Snape, Joshua F.

AU - Weiss, Benjamin P.

PY - 2019/12

Y1 - 2019/12

N2 - The Moon is the only planetary body other than the Earth for which samples have been collected in situ by humans and robotic missions and returned to Earth. Scientific investigations of the first lunar samples returned by the Apollo 11 astronauts 50 years ago transformed the way we think most planetary bodies form and evolve. Identification of anorthositic clasts in Apollo 11 samples led to the formulation of the magma ocean concept, and by extension the idea that the Moon experienced large-scale melting and differentiation. This concept of magma oceans would soon be applied to other terrestrial planets and large asteroidal bodies. Dating of basaltic fragments returned from the Moon also showed that a relatively small planetary body could sustain volcanic activity for more than a billion years after its formation. Finally, studies of the lunar regolith showed that in addition to containing a treasure trove of the Moon’s history, it also provided us with a rich archive of the past 4.5 billion years of evolution of the inner Solar System. Further investigations of samples returned from the Moon over the past five decades led to many additional discoveries, but also raised new and fundamental questions that are difficult to address with currently available samples, such as those related to the age of the Moon, duration of lunar volcanism, the lunar paleomagnetic field and its intensity, and the record on the Moon of the bombardment history during the first billion years of evolution of the Solar System. In this contribution, we review the information we currently have on some of the key science questions related to the Moon and discuss how future sample-return missions could help address important knowledge gaps.

AB - The Moon is the only planetary body other than the Earth for which samples have been collected in situ by humans and robotic missions and returned to Earth. Scientific investigations of the first lunar samples returned by the Apollo 11 astronauts 50 years ago transformed the way we think most planetary bodies form and evolve. Identification of anorthositic clasts in Apollo 11 samples led to the formulation of the magma ocean concept, and by extension the idea that the Moon experienced large-scale melting and differentiation. This concept of magma oceans would soon be applied to other terrestrial planets and large asteroidal bodies. Dating of basaltic fragments returned from the Moon also showed that a relatively small planetary body could sustain volcanic activity for more than a billion years after its formation. Finally, studies of the lunar regolith showed that in addition to containing a treasure trove of the Moon’s history, it also provided us with a rich archive of the past 4.5 billion years of evolution of the inner Solar System. Further investigations of samples returned from the Moon over the past five decades led to many additional discoveries, but also raised new and fundamental questions that are difficult to address with currently available samples, such as those related to the age of the Moon, duration of lunar volcanism, the lunar paleomagnetic field and its intensity, and the record on the Moon of the bombardment history during the first billion years of evolution of the Solar System. In this contribution, we review the information we currently have on some of the key science questions related to the Moon and discuss how future sample-return missions could help address important knowledge gaps.

KW - Earth-Moon system

KW - Lunar evolution

KW - Sample-return

KW - Solar System

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AN - SCOPUS:85075888634

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VL - 215

SP - 1

EP - 50

JO - Space Science Reviews

JF - Space Science Reviews

IS - 8

M1 - 54

ER -

Constraining the Evolutionary History of the Moon and the Inner Solar System: A Case for New Returned Lunar Samples

Abstract

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UN SDGs

Keywords

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