Space Weathering Properties of Chang’e-6 Soils and Implication for Regolith Evolution of Young Lunar Maria
Lunar soil samples from young maria (formed <3.0 billion years ago (Ga)) preserve key records of recent space weathering history in the Earth–Moon system. China’s Chang’e-6 mission returned the first farside soil samples from a young mare (∼2.8 Ga) at the northeastern South Pole–Aitken basin. We...
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adbffc |
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| author | Xuejin Lu Jian Chen Haijun Cao Changqing Liu Ziyi Jia Chengxiang Yin Tianwei Wang Xiaohui Fu Le Qiao Xiaojia Zeng Jiang Zhang Zongcheng Ling |
| author_facet | Xuejin Lu Jian Chen Haijun Cao Changqing Liu Ziyi Jia Chengxiang Yin Tianwei Wang Xiaohui Fu Le Qiao Xiaojia Zeng Jiang Zhang Zongcheng Ling |
| author_sort | Xuejin Lu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lunar soil samples from young maria (formed <3.0 billion years ago (Ga)) preserve key records of recent space weathering history in the Earth–Moon system. China’s Chang’e-6 mission returned the first farside soil samples from a young mare (∼2.8 Ga) at the northeastern South Pole–Aitken basin. We present preliminary results on the space weathering properties of the Chang’e-6 soils. The glassy agglutinate content in the Chang’e-6 soils is approximately 30%, significantly lower than the 50%–70% observed in the mature Apollo soils from older maria (>3.0 Ga) and higher than the ∼21% found in the Chang’e-5 soils from younger mare (∼2.0 Ga). However, our spectroscopic study reveals that the Chang’e-6 soils are well developed, with high maturity, weak absorption, and a red-sloped continuum, similar to the characteristics of the mature soils from the Apollo and Chang’e-5 landing sites. Orbital observations indicate more mature surface than in the returned samples from young mare regions, likely due to the destruction of an optically mature veneer by spacecraft. The optically mature veneer reveals deficiencies in remote sensing and emphasizes the importance of sample return missions. The thinner optically mature veneer and lower abundance of glassy agglutinate in younger maria suggest reduced gardening cycles and changes in impactor properties (such as rate and size) after 3.0 Ga. This is important for understanding how the relative contributions of space weathering agents change over time and the evolution of impactors in the inner solar system. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d64d389027894c60b3486b9f20dffe03 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-d64d389027894c60b3486b9f20dffe032025-08-20T01:55:57ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052025-01-019831L110.3847/2041-8213/adbffcSpace Weathering Properties of Chang’e-6 Soils and Implication for Regolith Evolution of Young Lunar MariaXuejin Lu0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5274-5069Jian Chen1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3759-0254Haijun Cao2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0054-9557Changqing Liu3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7864-3140Ziyi Jia4https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9094-6178Chengxiang Yin5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9763-4098Tianwei Wang6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9088-3481Xiaohui Fu7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8818-7345Le Qiao8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6180-2344Xiaojia Zeng9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6536-779XJiang Zhang10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8369-871XZongcheng Ling11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9260-5765Shandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cnShandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cnShandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cnShandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cnShandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cnShandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cnShandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cnShandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cn; CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology , Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, People’s Republic of ChinaShandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cnCenter for Lunar and Planetary Sciences, Institute of Geochemistry , Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, People’s Republic of ChinaShandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cnShandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai, People’s Republic of China ; merchenj@sdu.edu.cn, zcling@sdu.edu.cn; CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology , Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, People’s Republic of ChinaLunar soil samples from young maria (formed <3.0 billion years ago (Ga)) preserve key records of recent space weathering history in the Earth–Moon system. China’s Chang’e-6 mission returned the first farside soil samples from a young mare (∼2.8 Ga) at the northeastern South Pole–Aitken basin. We present preliminary results on the space weathering properties of the Chang’e-6 soils. The glassy agglutinate content in the Chang’e-6 soils is approximately 30%, significantly lower than the 50%–70% observed in the mature Apollo soils from older maria (>3.0 Ga) and higher than the ∼21% found in the Chang’e-5 soils from younger mare (∼2.0 Ga). However, our spectroscopic study reveals that the Chang’e-6 soils are well developed, with high maturity, weak absorption, and a red-sloped continuum, similar to the characteristics of the mature soils from the Apollo and Chang’e-5 landing sites. Orbital observations indicate more mature surface than in the returned samples from young mare regions, likely due to the destruction of an optically mature veneer by spacecraft. The optically mature veneer reveals deficiencies in remote sensing and emphasizes the importance of sample return missions. The thinner optically mature veneer and lower abundance of glassy agglutinate in younger maria suggest reduced gardening cycles and changes in impactor properties (such as rate and size) after 3.0 Ga. This is important for understanding how the relative contributions of space weathering agents change over time and the evolution of impactors in the inner solar system.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adbffcLunar surfaceLunar impactsLunar scienceLunar mineralogyLunar mariaLunar probes |
| spellingShingle | Xuejin Lu Jian Chen Haijun Cao Changqing Liu Ziyi Jia Chengxiang Yin Tianwei Wang Xiaohui Fu Le Qiao Xiaojia Zeng Jiang Zhang Zongcheng Ling Space Weathering Properties of Chang’e-6 Soils and Implication for Regolith Evolution of Young Lunar Maria The Astrophysical Journal Letters Lunar surface Lunar impacts Lunar science Lunar mineralogy Lunar maria Lunar probes |
| title | Space Weathering Properties of Chang’e-6 Soils and Implication for Regolith Evolution of Young Lunar Maria |
| title_full | Space Weathering Properties of Chang’e-6 Soils and Implication for Regolith Evolution of Young Lunar Maria |
| title_fullStr | Space Weathering Properties of Chang’e-6 Soils and Implication for Regolith Evolution of Young Lunar Maria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Space Weathering Properties of Chang’e-6 Soils and Implication for Regolith Evolution of Young Lunar Maria |
| title_short | Space Weathering Properties of Chang’e-6 Soils and Implication for Regolith Evolution of Young Lunar Maria |
| title_sort | space weathering properties of chang e 6 soils and implication for regolith evolution of young lunar maria |
| topic | Lunar surface Lunar impacts Lunar science Lunar mineralogy Lunar maria Lunar probes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adbffc |
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