Updated

Updated · Earth.com · Jun 27

New Models Put 2-Mile-Thick Lunar Mantle Rock Near Artemis South Pole Landing Zones

Updated

Updated · Earth.com · Jun 27

New Models Put 2-Mile-Thick Lunar Mantle Rock Near Artemis South Pole Landing Zones

Q: China has already sampled the Moon's deep interior. What unique prize are Artemis astronauts now racing to find?

Artemis astronauts are racing to find the first confirmed samples of the Moon’s mantle — deep-interior rock blasted upward by the ancient impact that created the South Pole-Aitken basin and later re-exposed near the lunar south pole. That is the key distinction from China’s Chang’e-6 return. China has already brought back material from the South Pole-Aitken basin, and some studies suggest possible deep-interior signatures. But scientists say no nation has yet definitively identified confirmed lunar mantle pieces in returned samples. The new Purdue-led impact modeling and a companion gravity analysis using NASA’s GRAIL data suggest that the basin-forming collision punched through the lunar crust and left a buried ring of dense mantle material beneath the south polar region. Later, smaller impacts likely excavated some of that material and scattered it onto terrain Artemis crews may be able to reach. If astronauts recover those rocks, the scientific payoff would be unusually high. Confirmed mantle samples could provide the clearest direct evidence yet about the Moon’s internal composition, help date one of its oldest giant impacts, and test the lunar magma ocean theory that underpins scientists’ understanding of how the Moon — and other rocky planets — formed.

2 articles · Updated · Earth.com · Jun 27

New simulations and GRAIL gravity data indicate deep lunar material may lie within walking distance of planned Artemis south-pole landing areas, with mantle-rich deposits piled up to two miles thick in places.
A Purdue-led impact model says the 1,200-mile South Pole-Aitken basin was carved about 4 billion years ago by a roughly 160-mile-wide, low-angle body moving from north to south, not the opposite direction proposed earlier.
A companion University of Arizona study mapped a roughly 250-mile-wide ring of dense buried material around the basin rim; later smaller impacts may have excavated some of that deep rock back onto the surface.
The finding could give astronauts around 2028 access to samples from the Moon's mantle and early history, though only returned rocks can confirm whether the dense material is mantle or metal from the impactor's core.

Sources

Earth.com14d ago

New modeling and gravity mapping reveal accessible deep lunar mantle rock near Moon's south pole

Instagram14d ago

🌕 Fresh Impact Punched A Bright-Rayed Crater Into The Moon A small impact struck the Moon and carved a fresh crater into the gray lunar regolith, turning the surface change into a

China has already sampled the Moon's deep interior. What unique prize are Artemis astronauts now racing to find?

With its key lunar lander crippled by an explosion, can NASA still deliver on its 2028 Moon landing promise?

The South Pole–Aitken Basin Revealed: Chang’e-6 Discoveries, Artemis Plans, and the Global Quest for Lunar Mantle Samples

Overview

The Chang'e-6 mission has provided groundbreaking insights into the Moon's deep interior and early history by analyzing samples from the South Pole–Aitken basin. A key finding is the presence of unusually heavy potassium isotopes in these samples. Prof. Hengci Tian's team carefully investigated possible causes, such as cosmic ray exposure, magmatic processes, and meteorite contamination, but found these had only minor effects and could not explain the unique isotopic signature. This suggests that a major impact event, which formed the basin, profoundly altered the Moon's internal chemistry, offering new clues about lunar evolution.

...