Constraining the formation and transport of lunar impact glasses using the ages and chemical compositions of Chang'e-5 glass beads.

ABSTRACT: Impact glasses found in lunar soils provide a possible window into the impact history of the inner solar system. However, their use for precise reconstruction of this history is limited by an incomplete understanding of the physical mechanisms responsible for their origin and distribution and possible relationships to local and regional geology. Here, we report U-Pb isotopic dates and chemical compositions of impact glasses from the Chang'e-5 soil and quantitative models of impact melt formation and ejection that account for the compositions of these glasses. The predominantly local provenance indicated by their compositions, which constrains transport distances to <~150 kilometers, and the age-frequency distribution are consistent with formation mainly in impact craters 1 to 5 kilometers

SUBMITTER: Long T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9519047 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature