Impact-induced mixing generated the stratified soils of the Lunar South Pole Aitken Basin
Abstract The Mg-pyroxene annulus in the South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin holds crucial information about the lunar crustal evolution, yet its mineralogy and origin remain debate. Here we analyzed the mineralogy, exogenic ejecta, and soil evolution of the 2.8-billion-year-old Chang’e-6 samples from the...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02441-8 |
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| Summary: | Abstract The Mg-pyroxene annulus in the South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin holds crucial information about the lunar crustal evolution, yet its mineralogy and origin remain debate. Here we analyzed the mineralogy, exogenic ejecta, and soil evolution of the 2.8-billion-year-old Chang’e-6 samples from the SPA basin by Raman spectroscopic technique. The Chang’e-6 soils contain mare basalts and noritic exogenous ejecta (31–40 vol%), likely from Chaffee S crater. The derived mineralogy (63–67 vol% plagioclase and 25–27 vol% low-Ca pyroxene) of Mg-pyroxene annulus indicates a ferrous noritic lithology, attributed to a mixture of differentiated norite from the SPA impact melt sheet and re-deposited SPA crust (61–63 vol%). Ejecta accumulation facilitated glass formation, while small impacts induced quartz metamorphism, mixing mature basaltic soil with fresh ejecta, and leading to the fine-grained CE-6 soil. These findings provide new insights into the origin of SPA mafic anomalies and farside mare soil evolution. |
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| ISSN: | 2662-4435 |