^1,2Lee, J.-E. et al. (>10)
Nature 649, 853-858 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09939-3]
¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
²SNU Astronomy Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

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¹Heng-Ci Tian,¹Chi Zhang,²Wen-Jun Li,²Dingshuai Xue,²Jing Wang,¹Wei Yang,²Yan-Hong Liu,¹Yangting Lin,²Xian-Hua Li,²Fu-Yuan Wu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS) 123, e2515408123 Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2515408123]
¹Key Laboratory of Planetary Science and Frontier Technology, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
²State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China

Recent studies suggest that the lunar farside experienced a magma ocean evolution similar to that of the nearside. Thus, the nearside-farside dichotomy, such as volcanism and crustal thickness, is likely related to the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin–forming impact. Although the noritic clasts found in Chang’e-6 (CE6) samples may originate from crustal remelting induced by the SPA impact, how (and whether) the lunar mantle was modified by this event remains unclear. Here, we present the first high-precision iron (Fe) and potassium (K) isotopic measurements of CE6 low-Ti basalts, revealing higher δ56Fe (0.13 to 0.21‰) and δ41K (0 to 0.09‰) in these basalts compared to their Apollo and Chang’e-5 (CE5) counterparts (δ56Fe: 0 to 0.11‰; δ41K: −0.29 to −0.04‰). The heavy Fe and K isotopic signatures are unlikely to be derived from cosmogenic effects or the addition of impactor-derived materials. Instead, the heavy Fe isotopes can be explained by partial melting and fractional crystallization processes. For K isotopes, however, the data require that the mantle source beneath the SPA basin had a heavier K isotopic composition than that of the nearside mantle, most likely resulting from evaporation caused by the SPA-forming impact. Our results thus provide robust evidence for significant impact-induced modification of the lunar mantle and demonstrate that large-scale impacts may have played a key role in creating lunar asymmetry.