¹Lars E. Borg, ¹Thomas S. Kruijer, ¹Ming-Chang Liu, ^1,2Autumn G. Roberts, ¹Josh Wimpenny, ¹Ouyanatu N.Z. Maina, ¹Joseph Boro, ¹Charles K. Shearer, ^1,4Kyle M. Samperton
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2025.10.028]
¹Cosmochemical & Isotopic Signatures Group, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue L-231, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
²Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
³Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
⁴Trace Nuclear Measurement Technology Group, Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken SC 29802 USA
Copyright Elsevier

Temporal relationships among the three most common suites of lunar crustal rocks have been investigated by obtaining new high precision ages on Felsic/Alkali-suite Quartz monzodiorite Clast B from breccia 15405 and Magnesian-suite norite 78235/6/8/55/56 and comparing them to previously dated ferroan anorthosite sample 60025. The weighted average age of 4337.19 ± 0.49 Ma of 15405 Clast B is defined by zircon U-Pb and Pb-Pb ages as well as mineral isochron Sm-Nd and Nd-Nd ages. It is identical to the weighted average age for Apollo 17 norite 78235/6/8/55/56 of 4334.1 ± 3.5 Ma which is defined by Pb-Pb ages measured on baddeleyites in this investigation and less precise Pb-Pb and Sm-Nd ages reported in the literature. Both ages are ∼ 25 Ma younger than the weighted average of Sm-Nd and Pb-Pb ages reported in the literature on ferroan anorthosite 60025 of 4359.3 ± 2.3 Ma. The fact that ages of all three samples are defined by multiple U-Pb, Pb-Pb, Sm-Nd, and 142Nd-143Nd chronometers provide confidence that they record the igneous crystallization history of the samples and do not represent disturbances or mixing lines with no temporal significance.
The extent to which these three ages represent broader scale magmatism is difficult to evaluate. Nevertheless, the age defined for 15405 Clast B, 78235/6/8/55/56, and 60025 are contemporaneous with the peak of ages observed in detrital zircons from the Apollo 12, 14, 15, and 17 landing sites (4340 ± 20 Ma), a Mg-suite Sm-Nd whole rock isochron defined by samples from Apollo 14, 15, 16, and 17 landing sites (4348 ± 25 Ma), and a Ferroan Anorthosite-suite Sm-Nd whole rock isochron defined by samples from the Apollo 15 and 16 landing sites (4354 ± 29 Ma). This implies that Ferroan Anorthosite-suite magmatism is temporally distinct and earlier than magmatism associated with the Mg-suite and the Felsic/Alkali-suite, as predicted by the lunar magma ocean model of lunar differentiation. The short 35 ± 10 Ma interval between primary ferroan anorthosite magmatism and secondary magmatism suggests that the lunar crust formed over a limited period of time. Although heat from decay of long-lived isotopes, large impacts, tidal heating associated with interactions between the Earth and Moon, and density driven overturn of the magma ocean have all been invoked to explain production of ancient secondary crustal magmatism, only tidal heating and cumulate overturn are consistent with the apparent short duration of secondary crustal magmatism and the great depth of crystallization implied for some Mg-suite samples.
The initial ε143Nd values derived from the 15405 Clast B and 78238 Mg-suite norite isochrons, as well as a Mg-suite whole rock isochron are −0.23 ± 0.11, −0.27 ± 0.74, and −0.25 ± 0.09, respectively. They are identical within uncertainty indicating that Mg-suite and Felsic/Alkali-suite magmas were derived from materials that had the same time averaged Sm/Nd ratios since the formation of the solar system. This, combined with the contemporaneous nature of 15405 Clast B and 78235/6/8/55/56 Mg-suite norite, is consistent with evolution of both samples, and likely both magma suites, from a common source through closed system fractional crystallization or partial melting processes.

¹Rainer Wieler,¹Donald S. Burnett
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 9, 1142-1151 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.5c00009]
¹Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
²Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, United States

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¹Ashwani Raju, ²Saraah Imran, ¹Jiwantika Kumari, ¹Ankit Kumar, ³Ramesh P. Singh
Advances in Space Research 76, 1172-1195 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2025.04.079]
¹Remote Sensing & GIS Lab., Department of Geology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005 Uttar Pradesh, India
²Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667 Uttarakhand, India
³School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, United States

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¹Juulia-Gabrielle Moreau, ¹Argo Jõeleht, ^2,3Anna Losiak, ⁴Meng-Hua Zhu, ¹Jüri Plado
Icarus (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116856]
¹Department of Geology, University of Tartu, Ravila 14A, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
²Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Podwale 75, PL-50449 Wroclaw, Poland
³Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, USA
⁴State Kay Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau, China
Copyright Elsevier

Sedimentary rocks often form the upper layers or the entire target rocks in impact events. Thermodynamic properties of sedimentary rocks related to porosity and water saturation affect the process of impact crater formation. The heterogeneous distribution of sedimentary facies can complicate the development and distribution of shock effects, especially in numerical modeling. This work focuses on the shock thermodynamic properties of carbonate rocks with differing porosity textures (e.g., isolated pores, interstitial porosity, elongated pores) and water saturation levels. Using mesoscale numerical modeling, we found that water saturation reduces shock temperatures compared to those in dry, porous carbonate rocks. The orientation of elongated pores and porosity lineations influences the shock temperature distribution and rock deformation at angles of 50–90° to the shock front. Additionally, due to complex shock wave interactions, interstitial porosity is key in creating temperature zonations around larger grains.

¹Rui Tahara et al. (>10)
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.70066]
¹Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission successfully collected and returned ~121.6 g of bulk samples from the B-type, near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu to Earth in September 2023. Upon returning to Earth, the samples were transported to the NASA Johnson Space Center where most of the samples have been stored and processed. On August 22, 2024, 0.5 wt% of Bennu samples (0.663 g) and a contact pad that collected particles from the surface of Bennu were permanently transferred to JAXA from NASA based on a Memorandum of Understanding and a letter of agreement between the two agencies. Following this, all the Bennu samples have been curated under nitrogen-purged gloveboxes, called clean chambers in a clean room at the Extraterrestrial Sample Curation Center in Sagamihara. While maintaining the pristinity of samples at the curation, we conduct a series of nondestructive analyses, including near-infrared spectroscopy within the clean chambers. Bennu curation was conceptualized primarily based on the Hayabusa2 curation, whereas lessons learned from the Hayabusa2 curation were integrated into designing Bennu curation. Here, we describe preparations for the Bennu curation, with an emphasis on the differences from the Hayabusa2 curation.

^1,2,3Xuhang Zhang et al. (>10)
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 671, 119666 Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2025.119666]
¹Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
²Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
³Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
Copyright Elsevier

Understanding the elemental and isotopic composition of the Sun is key to reconstructing planetary formation, atmospheric evolution and solar activity over time. Noble gases from solar wind implanted into lunar regolith provide a unique archive of solar history, but their interpretation is complicated by implantation uncertainties and secondary processes (e.g., diffusion, regolith gardening, solar and galactic cosmic ray exposure). Here we report the isotopic composition of the noble gases (helium, neon, and argon) in thirty six high-purity plagioclase grains from Chang’e-5 lunar soil to assess the preservation of implanted solar wind in lunar materials. Compared with plagioclase from several Apollo sites, the grains retain a more pristine solar wind record, revealing a dynamic equilibrium between solar wind and cosmic ray irradiation and intense diffusive loss driven by localized heating likely due to micro-impacts or temperature gradients at the lunar surface. These coupled mechanisms explain the observed inter-grain He/Ne/Ar variations. Our data further indicate that kinetic diffusion during solar wind implantation, rather than post-implantation alteration, is the primarily driver of elemental fractionation relative to original solar wind values in plagioclase. Collectively, these findings reveal pathways of solar wind-driven noble gas retention and loss in lunar materials and further accounts for the presence of solar wind-derived He and Ne in the lunar exosphere. They also underscore the need to correct for process-related modifications when reconstructing past solar wind compositions, thereby enabling improved inference of solar evolution, planetary volatiles origins, and the initial solar nebula composition.

¹M. Yesiltas,¹T. D. Glotch
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.70067]
¹Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
Published by arrangemetn with John Wiley & Sons

CM chondrites have undergone varying degrees of aqueous alteration and thermal metamorphism on their parent bodies. Consequently, the petrologic grade of CM chondrites spans the entire type 2 scale (e.g., types 2.0–2.9). A 12236 is a very primitive petrologic type 2.9 carbonaceous chondrite that offers a unique window into the complex formation and evolution histories of CM chondrites. Based on its chemical composition, it is one of the least altered CM chondrites identified to date and one of the most primitive meteorites. Here, we present a comprehensive characterization of the organic and inorganic constituents of A 12236, determined through electron microscopy, micro-Raman, and s-SNOM nano-FT-IR spectroscopy. We identified FeNiS phases, including pentlandite, pyrrhotite, and troilite, within a fine-grained matrix composed predominantly of crystalline and amorphous silicates, including phyllosilicates. Raman spectroscopic results suggest that A 12236 experienced less thermal metamorphism than type 3 carbonaceous chondrites and contains polyaromatic organic matter with slightly differing structural order. Nano-FT-IR spectroscopy revealed chemically distinct aliphatic and aromatic organic phases, with observed compositional heterogeneity indicating variations in organic precursors and accreted materials. Correlation analysis highlights the complex associations between organic matter and phyllosilicates, along with evidence of differing aromatic compositions within the matrix. The varying abundances of nanoscale organics in different areas of A 12236 suggest that the organic matter is highly heterogeneously distributed within the matrix. Our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of nano-FT-IR spectroscopy for high-resolution, nondestructive analysis of extraterrestrial samples.

¹M. Simopoulou et al. (>10)
Journal of Raman Spectroscopy (in Press) Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.6833]
¹Agricultural University of Athens, Laboratory of Mineralogy & Geology, Athens, Greece

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¹Ke Zhu (朱柯),²Nao Nakanishi,³Jan Render,³Quinn R. Shollenberger,⁴Tetsuya Yokoyama,⁴Akira Ishikawa,⁵Lu Chen
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 984, L54 Open Access Link to Article [DOI 10.3847/2041-8213/adc89c]
¹State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of China
²Department of Earth Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan
³Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
⁴Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
⁵Wuhan Sample Solution Analytical Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan, People’s Republic of China

The recently proposed Yamato-type (CY) chondrites share significant similarities with CI chondrites and Ryugu. We present major and trace elemental, Re–Os, and mass-independent Ti, Cr, and Fe isotope data for seven CY chondrites. The elemental data along with isotopic compositions reveal two distinct lithologies, here designated as CY1 and CY2, potentially originating from two different parent bodies. Although sharing similarities with CM chondrites, CY2 chondrites have distinct Cr isotope compositions, arguing against a close genetic relationship. The CY1 lithology exhibits elemental abundances similar to CI chondrites/Ryugu as well as Fe, Ti, and Cr isotope compositions that closely overlap with those of CI chondrites/Ryugu. This suggests that CI chondrites, CY1 chondrites, and Ryugu accreted in the same region of the solar system and may even originate from the same parent body. In fact, we find that the reduced water content and certain volatile element abundances alongside increased sulfide content and mass-dependent O isotope enrichments observed in CY1 compared to CI chondrites could be attributed to an impact-induced heating event on the CI parent body. This impact likely disrupted the CI parent body, resulting in the ejection of both CI and CY1 lithologies. Furthermore, given that there are presently only five known CI meteorite specimens, the close chemical composition between CY1 and CI chondrites substantially expands the data set for comparisons and referrals to the bulk solar system composition for nonvolatile elements. Finally, we propose that the “CY1” chondrites could be called “CI1T,” while the designation “CY” chondrites could be restricted to “CY2” samples.

^1,2Runwu Li, ^1,2Ming Tang, ¹Jiaxi Wang
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 671, 119650 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2025.119650]
¹Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belt and Crustal Evolution, MOE, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
²Research Institute of Extraterrestrial Material (RIEMPKU), School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Copyright Elsevier

The samples returned by the recent Chang’e-5 (CE-5) mission confirmed active lunar magmatism at least two billion years ago, which challenged the long-held view of an inactive Moon through much of its lifespan. However, the origin of this extended lunar magmatism remains mysterious. The CE-5 lunar soil and basalt fragments exhibit a strong fractionation between middle and heavy rare earth elements, a phenomenon rarely observed in the Apollo samples. We confirm this fractionation as a primary magmatic signature with measurements of the pyroxenes. By coupling phase equilibria modeling and element partitioning calculations, we show that this fractionation can only be produced if the magma source contained ∼5-10% garnet at a minimum depth of ∼700 km. We suggest the primary CE-5 magma may have originated from the lunar lower mantle. For melting to occur, one possibility is that convection may have been sustained in the deep lunar mantle until at least two billion years ago. Alternatively, the CE-5 magma may have tapped the melt-bearing layer near the core, as indicated by recent seismic observations.