Age and composition of young basalts on the Moon, measured from samples returned by Chang'e-5

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 374; no. 6569; pp. 887 - 890
• Main Authors: Che, Xiaochao, Nemchin, Alexander, Liu, Dunyi, Long, Tao, Wang, Chen, Norman, Marc D, Joy, Katherine H, Tartese, Romain, Head, James, Jolliff, Bradley, Snape, Joshua F, Neal, Clive R, Whitehouse, Martin J, Crow, Carolyn, Benedix, Gretchen, Jourdan, Fred, Yang, Zhiqing, Yang, Chun, Liu, Jianhui, Xie, Shiwen, Bao, Zemin, Fan, Runlong, Li, Dapeng, Li, Zengsheng, Webb, Stuart G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 12.11.2021
• Subjects: Age; Astronomy; Basalt; Chemical composition; Den föränderliga jorden; Earth mantle; Inner solar system; Isotopes; Laboratories; Lead isotopes; Lunar evolution; Magma; Moon; Multidisciplinary; Potassium; Radioisotopes; Radiometric dating; Remote sensing; Rocks; Solar system; The changing Earth; Thermal evolution; Thorium; Uranium; Volcanic activity
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.abl7957

Orbital data indicate that the youngest volcanic units on the Moon are basalt lavas in Oceanus Procellarum, a region with high levels of the heat-producing elements potassium, thorium, and uranium. The Chang’e-5 mission collected samples of these young lunar basalts and returned them to Earth for laboratory analysis. We measure an age of 1963 ± 57 million years for these lavas and determine their chemical and mineralogical compositions. This age constrains the lunar impact chronology of the inner Solar System and the thermal evolution of the Moon. There is no evidence for high concentrations of heat-producing elements in the deep mantle of the Moon that generated these lavas, so alternate explanations are required for the longevity of lunar magmatism.