Title Information
Title
Distribution of Pressure-Temperature Among Lunar Ejecta and Implications for Apollo Samples
Abstract
Geological samples can provide crucial insights into planetary origins, formation processes, differentiation, and evolution from the early Solar System to the present day. The first extraterrestrial samples returned to Earth were collected from the Moon by Apollo astronauts. These samples have undergone decades of analysis, significantly advancing our understanding of the Moon’s origin. To fully interpret lunar evolution using these samples, it is critical to determine their original locations. The lunar surface is constantly reshaped by meteorite impacts, leading to gardening, recycling, ejection, and shock alteration of surface material. Therefore, most Apollo samples are allochthonous, meaning that they were typically collected far from where they originally formed. Additionally, many samples which have been ejected during impact events have undergone high Pressure/Temperature (P/T) conditions that obscure their pre-impact history. So, to accurately trace the origins of lunar samples, it is crucial to understand the impact processes that ejected them. This work aims to enhance our understanding of impact cratering processes and provide rigorous estimates of P/T conditions in lunar material ejected during impact events, to locate source craters of Apollo samples. To do this we use combined numerical modeling, statistical analysis and reported geochemical data. Establishing a scaling relationship between crater size and ejecta P/T conditions will not only improve our ability to trace previously collected lunar samples but also guide future sample collection efforts, such as those planned for the Artemis missions. A better understanding of P/T distributions in crater ejecta will refine our knowledge of impact cratering physics, the most common geological process in the Solar System.
Name: Personal
Name Part
Allspaw, Sadie
Role
Role Term: Text
creator
Name: Personal
Name Part
Andrea Rajšić
Role
Role Term: Text
advisor
affiliation
Brown University. Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences
Name: Corporate
Name Part
Space Grant/NASA
Role
Role Term: Text
research program
Subject (fast) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/00872518")
Topic
Computer simulation
Subject (fast) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/01003693")
Topic
Lunar craters
Subject (fast) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/02010741")
Topic
Lunar surface samples
Subject (fast) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/01065123")
Topic
Planetary science
Language
Language Term: Text (ISO639-2B)
English
Type of Resource (primo)
text_resources
Genre (aat)
posters
Origin Information
Place
Place Term: Code (MARC Country Code)
riu
Place
Place Term: Text
Providence, RI
Publisher
Brown University
Date Created (keyDate="yes", encoding="w3cdtf")
2025
Physical Description
Extent
1 poster
digitalOrigin
born digital
Access Condition: use and reproduction
All rights reserved
Access Condition: rights statement (href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/")
In Copyright
Access Condition: restriction on access
All Rights Reserved
Identifier: DOI
10.26300/q2j5-qk37