biostudies-literatureChen XSwiss National Science Foundation36-53https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10801744biostudies-literatureUnknown8(1)Zircons are found in extraterrestrial rocks from the Moon, Mars, and some differentiated meteorite parent-bodies. These zircons are rare, often of small size, and have been affected by neutron capture induced by cosmic ray exposure. The application of the ¹⁷⁶Lu-¹⁷⁶Hf decay system to zircons from planetary bodies such as the Moon can help establish the chronology of large-scale differentiation processes such as the crystallization of the lunar magma ocean. Here, we present methods to measure the isotopic composition of Hf of extraterrestrial zircons dated using ID-TIMS U-Pb after chemical abrasion. We introduce a 2-stage elution scheme to separate Hf from Zr while preserving the unused Zr fraction for future isotopic analysis. The effect of neutron capture is also re-eACS earth & space chemistryMethodologies for ¹⁷⁶Lu-¹⁷⁶Hf Analysis of Zircon Grains from the Moon and Beyond.PMC10801744196955200020Zhang ZJLeya IZhang JSzymanowski DChen XDauphas NSchoene BBarboni MMcKeegan KDfalseMethodologies for ¹⁷⁶Lu-¹⁷⁶Hf Analysis of Zircon Grains from the Moon and Beyond.Zircons are found in extraterrestrial rocks from the Moon, Mars, and some differentiated meteorite parent-bodies. These zircons are rare, often of small size, and have been affected by neutron capture induced by cosmic ray exposure. The application of the ¹⁷⁶Lu-¹⁷⁶Hf decay system to zircons from planetary bodies such as the Moon can help establish the chronology of large-scale differentiation processes such as the crystallization of the lunar magma ocean. Here, we present methods to measure the isotopic composition of Hf of extraterrestrial zircons dated using ID-TIMS U-Pb after chemical abrasion. We introduce a 2-stage elution scheme to separate Hf from Zr while preserving the unused Zr fraction for future isotopic analysis. The effect of neutron capture is also re-e2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Jan2025-04-04T21:16:09.746Z2025-04-04T21:16:09.746ZS-EPMC108017443826408410.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00093