Fieldpath Lunar Meteorite Graves Nunataks 06157, a Magnesian Piece of the Lunar Highlands Crust

To date, 49 feldspathic lunar meteorites (FLMs) have been recovered, likely representing a minimum of 35 different sample locations in the lunar highlands. The compositional variability among FLMs far exceeds the variability observed among highland samples in the Apollo and Luna sample suites. Here we will discuss in detail one of the compositional end members of the FLM suite, Graves Nunataks (GRA) 06157, which was collected by the 2006-2007 ANSMET field team. At 0.79 g, GRA 06157 is the smallest lunar meteorite so far recovered. Despite its small size, its highly feldspathic and highly magnesian composition are intriguing. Although preliminary bulk compositions have been reported, thus far no petrographic descriptions are in the literature. Here we expand upon the bulk compositional data, including major-element compositions, and provide a detailed petrographic description of GRA 06157

Petrography and Geochemistry of Lunar Meteorite Miller Range 13317

Miller Range (MIL) 13317 is a 32-g lunar meteorite collected during the 2013-2014 ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) field season. It was initially described as having 25% black fusion crust covering a light- to dark-grey matrix, with numerous clasts ranging in size up to 1 cm; it was tenta-tively classified as a lunar anorthositic breccia. Here we present the petrography and geochemistry of MIL 13317, and examine possible pairing relationships with previously described lunar meteorites

Basin Excavation, Lower Crust, Composition, and Bulk Moon Mass balance in Light of a Thin Crust

New lunar gravity results from GRAIL have been interpreted to reflect an overall thin and low-density lunar crust. Accordingly, crustal thickness has been modeled as ranging from 0 to 60 km, with thinnest crust at the locations of Crisium and Moscoviense basins and thickest crust in the central farside highlands. The thin crust has cosmochemical significance, namely in terms of implications for the Moon s bulk composition, especially refractory lithophile elements that are strongly concentrated in the crust. Wieczorek et al. concluded that the bulk Moon need not be enriched compared to Earth in refractory lithophile elements such as Al. Less Al in the crust means less Al has been extracted from the mantle, permitting relatively low bulk lunar mantle Al contents and low pre- and post-crust-extraction values for the mantle (or the upper mantle if only the upper mantle underwent LMO melting). Simple mass-balance calculations using the method of [4] suggests that the same conclusion might hold for Th and the entire suite of refractory lithophile elements that are incompatible in olivine and pyroxene, including the KREEP elements, that are likewise concentrated in the crust

Apollo 16 Evolved Lithology Sodic Ferrogabbro

Evolved lunar igneous lithologies, often referred to as the alkali suite, are a minor but important component of the lunar crust. These evolved samples are incompatible-element rich samples, and are, not surprisingly, most common in the Apollo sites in (or near) the incompatible-element rich region of the Moon known as the Procellarum KREEP Terrane (PKT). The most commonly occurring lithologies are granites (A12, A14, A15, A17), monzogabbro (A14, A15), alkali anorthosites (A12, A14), and KREEP basalts (A15, A17). The Feldspathic Highlands Terrane is not entirely devoid of evolved lithologies, and rare clasts of alkali gabbronorite and sodic ferrogabbro (SFG) have been identified in Apollo 16 station 11 breccias 67915 and 67016. Curiously, nearly all pristine evolved lithologies have been found as small clasts or soil particles, exceptions being KREEP basalts 15382/6 and granitic sample 12013 (which is itself a breccia). Here we reexamine the petrography and geochemistry of two SFG-like particles found in a survey of Apollo 16 2-4 mm particles from the Cayley Plains 62283,7-15 and 62243,10-3 (hereafter 7-15 and 10-3 respectively). We will compare these to previously reported SFG samples, including recent analyses on the type specimen of SFG from lunar breccia 67915

Lunar Meteorites Sayh Al Uhaymir 449 and Dhofar 925, 960, and 961: Windows into South Pole

In 2003, three lunar meteorites were collected in close proximity to each other in the Dhofar region of Oman: Dhofar 925 (49 g), Dhofar 960 (35 g), and Dhofar 961 (22 g). In 2006, lunar meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir (SaU) 449 (16.5 g) was found about 100 km to the NE. Despite significant differences in the bulk composition of Dhofar 961 relative to Dhofar 925/960 and SaU 449 (which are identical to each other), these four meteorites are postulated to be paired based on their find locations, bulk composition, and detailed petrographic analysis. Hereafter, they will collectively be referred to as the Dhofar 961 clan. Comparison of meteorite and component bulk compositions to Lunar Prospector 5-degree gamma-ray data suggest the most likely provenance of this meteorite group is within the South Pole-Aitken Basin. As the oldest, largest, and deepest recognizable basin on the Moon, the composition of the material within the SPA basin is of particular importance to lunar science. Here we review and expand upon the geochemistry and petrography of the Dhofar 961 clan and assess the likelihood that these meteorites come from within the SPA basin based on their bulk compositions and the compositions and characteristics of the major lithologic components found within the breccia

Petrography of Lunar Meteorite MET 01210, A New Basaltic Regolith Breccia

Lunar meteorite MET 01210 (hereafter referred to as MET) is a 22.8 g breccia collected during the 2001 field season in the Meteorite Hills, Antarctica. Although initially classified as an anorthositic breccia, MET is a regolith breccia composed predominantly of very-low-Ti (VLT) basaltic material. Four other brecciated lunar meteorites (NWA 773, QUE 94281, EET 87/96, Yamato 79/98) with a significant VLT basaltic component have been identified. We present here the petrography and bulk major element composition of MET and compare it to previously studied basaltic lunar meteorite breccias

Moonrise: Sampling the South Pole-Aitken Basin to Address Problems of Solar System Significance

A mission to land in the giant South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the Moon's southern farside and return a sample to Earth for analysis is a high priority for Solar System Science. Such a sample would be used to determine the age of the SPA impact; the chronology of the basin, including the ages of basins and large impacts within SPA, with implications for early Solar System dynamics and the magmatic history of the Moon; the age and composition of volcanic rocks within SPA; the origin of the thorium signature of SPA with implications for the origin of exposed materials and thermal evolution of the Moon; and possibly the magnetization that forms a strong anomaly especially evident in the northern parts of the SPA basin. It is well known from studies of the Apollo regolith that rock fragments found in the regolith form a representative collection of many different rock types delivered to the site by the impact process (Fig. 1). Such samples are well documented to contain a broad suite of materials that reflect both the local major rock formations, as well as some exotic materials from far distant sources. Within the SPA basin, modeling of the impact ejection process indicates that regolith would be dominated by SPA substrate, formed at the time of the SPA basin-forming impact and for the most part moved around by subsequent impacts. Consistent with GRAIL data, the SPA impact likely formed a vast melt body tens of km thick that took perhaps several million years to cool, but that nonetheless represents barely an instant in geologic time that should be readily apparent through integrated geochronologic studies involving multiple chronometers. It is anticipated that a statistically significant number of age determinations would yield not only the age of SPA but also the age of several prominent nearby basins and large craters within SPA. This chronology would provide a contrast to the Imbrium-dominated chronology of the nearside Apollo samples and an independent test of the timing of the lunar cataclysm

AR-40 AR-39 Age of an Impact-Melt Lithology in DHOFAR 961

The South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin is the stratigraphically oldest identifiable lunar basin and is therefore one of the most important targets for absolute age-dating to help understand whether ancient lunar bombardment history smoothly declined or was punctuated by a cataclysm. The SPA basin also has another convenient property, a geochemically distinct interior, unobscured by extensive mare basalt fill. A case has been made for the possible origin of the Dhofar 961 lunar meteorite in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, based on comparing its composition with Lunar Prospector gamma-ray data for the interior of the SPA basin. Dhofar 961 contains several different impact-melt (IM) lithologies. Jolliff et al. described two classes of mafic impact-melt lithologies, one dominated by olivine (Lithology A) and the other by plagioclase (An 95-96.5) (Lithology B). Broad-beam analyses of these lithologies yielded (is) approximately 14.0 wt% FeO, 11.7 wt% MgO, and 15.4 wt% Al2O3. Lithologies A and B differ by approximately 2.5% Al2O3, 1.5% FeO and 1.5% MgO, consistent with the occurrence of olivine phenocrysts in A and plagioclase clasts in B. Both lithologies are considerably more mafic than the Apollo mafic impact-melt breccias, corresponding to olivine gabbronorite. Joy et al. used U-Pb dating to investigate phosphate fragments in the Dhofar 961 matrix and impact-melt clasts. Matrix phosphates have 4.34 to 4 Ga ages, consistent with ancient KREEP-driven magmatic episodes and Pre-Nectarian ((is) greater than 3.92 Ga). Phosphates found within Dhofar 961 crystalline impact melt breccia clasts range from 4.26 to 3.89 Ga, potentially recording events throughout the basin forming epoch of lunar history. The youngest reset ages in the Dhofar 961 sample represent an upper limit for the time of formation of the meteorite. Joy et al suggested this age represents the final impact that mixed and consolidated several generations of precursor rocks into the Dhofar meteorite group, although they note that further age dating of all the stones is required to test this hypothesis. We received a split of Dhofar 961 from R. Zeigler consisting of a large clast of IM Lithology B, with some light-colored, friable matrix clinging to the external margins of the impact-melt clast. This lithology was not present in the samples investigated by Joy et al. and thus does not have corresponding U-Pb ages on it. We created multiple subsplits of both the IM and matrix lithologies, each weighing several tens of micrograms. We conducted Ar-40 Ar-39 dating of this candidate SPA material by high-resolution step heating and comparing it with the regolith that surrounds it

Quantitative EPMA Compositional Mapping of NWA 2995: Characterization, and Petrologic Interpretation of Mafic Clasts

We present the first fully quantitative compositional maps of lunar meteorite NWA 2995 using electron microprobe stage mapping, and compare selected clast mineralogy and chemistry. NWA 2995 is a feldspathic fragmental breccia containing numerous highland fine grained lithologies, including anorthosite, norite, olivine basalt, subophitic basalt, gabbro, KREEP-like basalt, granulitic and glassy impact melts, coarse-grained mineral fragments, Fe-Ni metal, and glassy matrix [1]. Chips of NWA 2995, representing these diverse materials, were analyzed by INAA and fused-bead electron-probe microanalysis (EPMA); comparison of analytical data suggests grouping of lunar meteorites NWA 2995, 2996, 3190, 4503, 5151, and 5152. The mean composition of NWA 2995 corresponds to a 2:1 mixture of feldspathic and mare material, with approximately 5% KREEP component [2]. Clast mineral chemistry and petrologic interpretation of paired stone NWA 2996 has been reported by Mercer et al. [3], and Gross et al. [4]. This study combines advances in quantitative EPMA compositional mapping and data analysis, as applied to selected mafic clasts in a polished section of NWA 2995, to investigate the origin of mafic lithic components and to demonstrate a procedural framework for petrologic analysis