Lunar-like silicate material forms the Earth quasi-satellite (469219) 2016 HO3 Kamoʻoalewa

Little is known about Earth quasi-satellites, a class of near-Earth small solar system bodies that orbit the sun but remain close to the Earth, because they are faint and difficult to observe. Here we use the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) and the Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT) to conduct a comprehensive physical characterization of quasi-satellite (469219) Kamoʻoalewa and assess its affinity with other groups of near-Earth objects. We find that (469219) Kamoʻoalewa rotates with a period of 28.3 (+1.8/−1.3) minutes and displays a reddened reflectance spectrum from 0.4–2.2 microns. This spectrum is indicative of a silicate-based composition, but with reddening beyond what is typically seen amongst asteroids in the inner solar system. We compare the spectrum to those of several material analogs and conclude that the best match is with lunar-like silicates. This interpretation implies extensive space weathering and raises the prospect that Kamo’oalewa could comprise lunar material.

Complex Geophysical Investigations under Extreme P,T–Conditions at Zentralinstitut für Physik der Erde (ZIPE) (1970–1990)

The development of the geophysical high pressure research in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) is described here. The GDR was a German state established in 1949 at the territory of the Soviet occupation zone. The different experimental investigations under extreme pressure and temperature conditions and their industrial applications, including the pilot manufacture of synthetic diamonds are explained. A review of the research topics pursued including experiments on lunar material and Earth core/mantle material is described.

P-bearing olivines of lunar rocks: sources and localization in the lunar crust

Fragments of P-bearing olivine have been studied in lunar highland, mare and mingled meteorites and in «Apollo-14», «Luna-16, -20, -24» lunar samples. Olivine contains up to 0.5 wt.% P2O5 and has variable MG# number. It is associated with anorthite, pyroxene and accessory spinel group minerals, Ti and Zr oxides, phosphates, troilite and Fe-Ni metal. Three possible sources of P-bearing olivine were found in lunar material: 1) highland anorthositic-noritic-troctolitic rocks enriched in incompatible elements and thought to be related to high-Mg suite rocks: 2) late-stage products of mare basalts crystallization; 3) unusual olivine-orthopyroxene intergrowths either of meteoritic or lunar origin. Enrichment in incompatible elements may be resulted from both crystallization processes (source 2) and KREEP assimilation (sources 1 and 3). However following metasomatic processes can lead to some addition of phosphorus and other elements. The rarity of P-bearing olivines points either to the low abundance or local distribution of their sources in the lunar crust. Association with mare basalts specifies the highland-mare boundary. The presence of the evolved rocks in the studied breccias suggests possible connection of some sources with recently discovered granitic domes in Procellarum Ocean. That means the P-bearing sources are mainly localized on the visible side of the Moon.

ACCURATE REGISTRATION OF THE CHANG’E-1 IIM DATA BASED ON LRO LROC-WAC MOSICA DATA

In the detection of the moon, the visible and near-infrared reflectance data of the lunar material are important information sources for lunar chemical substances and mineral inversion. The Interferometer Imaging Spectrometer (IIM) aboard the Chang'E-1 lunar orbiter is the first multispectral imaging spectrometer for Chinese lunar missions. In this paper, we use the mosaic image of global moon acquired by the Wide-angle Camera (WAC) of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) to realize the accurate registration of Chang'E-1 IIM hyperspectral images. Due to the lack of GCPs, the emphasis of this work is to find a huge number of homologous points. The method proposed in this paper is to obtain several homologous points by manually matching, and then we utilize those points to calculate the initial homography matrix of LROC-WAC image and IIM image. This matrix is used to predict the area on IIM image where homologous points may be located, and the locations of the homologous points are determined by the orientation correlation in frequency domain. Finally we save the parts of homologous points which satisfied the conversion relationship of initial homography matrix to calculate homography matrix again. We use this iterative way to obtain a more accurate location of the homologous points. In this process, we take into account that the geometric deformations of different regions on IIM image are quite different. Therefore, we added image threshold segmentation based on the initial homography matrix in the experiment, and completed the above work of finding the homologous points on the segmented images. The final realization of registration accuracy of IIM images are in 1–2 pixels (RMSE). This provides a reliable data assurance for the subsequent study of using IIM images to inverse the lunar elements.

Isotopes as tracers of the sources of the lunar material and processes of lunar origin

Ever since the Apollo programme, isotopic abundances have been used as tracers to study lunar formation, in particular to study the sources of the lunar material. In the past decade, increasingly precise isotopic data have been reported that give strong indications that the Moon and the Earth's mantle have a common heritage. To reconcile these observations with the origin of the Moon via the collision of two distinct planetary bodies, it has been proposed (i) that the Earth–Moon system underwent convective mixing into a single isotopic reservoir during the approximately 10 3 year molten disc epoch after the giant impact but before lunar accretion, or (ii) that a high angular momentum impact injected a silicate disc into orbit sourced directly from the mantle of the proto-Earth and the impacting planet in the right proportions to match the isotopic observations. Recently, it has also become recognized that liquid–vapour fractionation in the energetic aftermath of the giant impact is capable of generating measurable mass-dependent isotopic offsets between the silicate Earth and Moon, rendering isotopic measurements sensitive not only to the sources of the lunar material, but also to the processes accompanying lunar origin. Here, we review the isotopic evidence that the silicate–Earth–Moon system represents a single planetary reservoir. We then discuss the development of new isotopic tracers sensitive to processes in the melt–vapour lunar disc and how theoretical calculations of their behaviour and sample observations can constrain scenarios of post-impact evolution in the earliest history of the Earth–Moon system.

Discovery of Discrete Structured Bubbles within Lunar Regolith Impact Glasses

The unusual morphology and internal structure of bubbles within lunar regolith impact glasses have been studied using traditional scanning electron microscopy and the novel technique transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM), with 3D tomography reconstruction. Here, we show the previously unknown phenomenon of building a highly porous cellular structure within bubbles in glassy particles of the dust fraction of lunar regolith. Vesicles within studied lunar glasses are filled in with submicron-sized particles as shown in the presented micrograph. These particles consist of glass nano in size elements. What is shown in the TXM tomography reconstruction anaglyph demonstrates cellular-like, 3D structure where oblique probably glassy fine particles down to 100 nm in diameter build chains of sophisticated network. It also may be suggested that submicron and nano-sized grains present in lunar regolith are the result of particle liberation from broken glassy vesicles. This liberation takes place when regolith is exposed to constant impact pulverisation. Liberated particles are permanently enriching lunar soil in the finest soil constituent. This constituent presence in lunar regolith may be responsible for the unusual behaviour of lunar material. This unusual constituent of lunar regolith and its properties have to be better understood before our permanent lunar exploration begins.