Moriarty Daniel P, Dygert Nick, Valencia Sarah N, Watkins Ryan N, Petro Noah E
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Nat Commun. 2021 Aug 3;12(1):4659. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24626-3.
The lunar surface is ancient and well-preserved, recording Solar System history and planetary evolution processes. Ancient basin-scale impacts excavated lunar mantle rocks, which are expected to remain present on the surface. Sampling these rocks would provide insight into fundamental planetary processes, including differentiation and magmatic evolution. There is contention among lunar scientists as to what lithologies make up the upper lunar mantle, and where they may have been exposed on the surface. We review dynamical models of lunar differentiation in the context of recent experiments and spacecraft data, assessing candidate lithologies, their distribution, and implications for lunar evolution.
月球表面古老且保存完好，记录着太阳系历史和行星演化过程。古代盆地规模的撞击挖掘出了月球地幔岩石，预计这些岩石仍存在于月球表面。采集这些岩石样本将有助于深入了解包括分化和岩浆演化在内的基本行星过程。月球科学家们对于构成月球上地幔的岩性以及它们可能在月球表面何处暴露存在争议。我们结合近期实验和航天器数据，对月球分化的动力学模型进行综述，评估候选岩性、它们的分布以及对月球演化的影响。
