Space-weathered rims on lunar ilmenite as an indicator for relative exposure ages of regolith

Autor: Zhuang Guo, Mingwei Zhang, Bojun Jia, Yang Li, Wenzhe Fa, Yong Pang, Chenxi Zhu, Yuanyun Wen, Xiongyao Li, Jianzhong Liu, Ziyuan Ouyang
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Communications Earth & Environment, Vol 5, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2662-4435
DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01590-6
Popis: Abstract Solar wind irradiation, as a crucial space weathering mechanism, alters the microscopic characteristics and reflectance spectrum of the lunar regolith, and its cumulative effect is strongly related to the exposure time. Ilmenite is highly resistant to solar wind irradiation. Here, we combined transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy to systematically illustrate the diverse space-weathered rims on the shoveled and drilled Chang’e-5 ilmenites resulting from varying degrees of solar wind irradiation, revealing that solar wind plays a key role in the early-stage alteration of exposed lunar soil. In addition, the space weathering microstructure observations are consistent with the model-predicted exposure history at the Chang’e-5 landing site and prove that the Chang’e-5 deep-layered drilled (~65 cm) and surface samples (
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