Moon News  
MOON DAILY
A new mineral from the Moon could explain what happens in the Earth's mantle
by Staff Writers
Manchester UK (SPX) Nov 03, 2020

File image of the lunar meteroite "Oued Awlitis 001" that was found in the Western Sahara in 2014.

A team of European researchers discovered a new high-pressure mineral in a lunar meteorite which is helping to explain what happens to materials within the extreme pressures of the Earth's mantle.

The new mineral donwilhelmsite is the first high-pressure mineral found in meteorites with application for terrestrial sediments dragged deep into the Earth mantle by plate tectonics. Mainly composed of calcium, aluminum, silicon, and oxygen atoms, donwilhelmsite was discovered within the lunar meteorite Oued Awlitis 001 found in 2014 in the Western Sahara.

The meteorite is compositionally similar to rocks comprising the Earth's continents. Eroded sediments from these continents are transported by wind and rivers to the oceans, and subducted into the Earth's mantle as part of the dense oceanic crust.

Once dragged to depths of about 460-700 km, their constituent minerals transform at high pressures and high temperatures existing at those depths into denser mineral phases, including the newly discovered mineral donwilhelmsite. In the terrestrial rock cycle, donwilhelmsite is therefore an important agent for transporting continental crustal sediments through the transition zone of the Earth's mantle (460-700 km depth).

Around 382 kilograms of rocks and soils have been collected by the Apollo and Luna missions, lunar meteorites allow valuable insights into the formation and evolution of the Moon. Ejected by impacts onto the lunar surface and subsequently delivered to Earth, some of these meteorites experienced particularly high temperatures and pressures.

Dr Vera Assis Fernandes of The University of Manchester measured the Argon isotopic composition of lunar rocks to date their complex history including magmatic formation, multiple impact bombardments, and the exposure to cosmic rays on the lunar surface, over billions of years. Dr Fernandes explains: "During impact bombardment rocks like the lunar meteorite Oued Awlitis 001 experience extreme physical conditions. This often led to shock melting of microscopic areas forming veins or melt pockets within these meteorites.

"These shocked areas are of great relevance as they mirror pressure and temperature regimes similar to those prevailing in the Earth's mantle, and therefore are natural crucibles hosting minerals that are otherwise naturally inaccessible at the Earth's surface."

The new discovery is published in the journal American Mineralogist. This pan-European collaboration was essential to obtain the lunar meteorite, recognise the new mineral, understand its scientific relevance, and to determine the crystal structure of the tiny, thousands parts of a millimeter thick, mineral crystal with high accuracy.

Mariana Klementova applied the cutting edge 3D electron diffraction (3DED) technique, together with a specially developed software to solve, for the first time, the crystal structure of an extraterrestrial mineral. Dr. Vera Assis Fernandes determined the ages of various events in the complex history of this meteorite, including the formation of the new mineral donwilhlemsite.

The new mineral was named in honor of the lunar geologist Don E. Wilhelms, an American scientist involved in landing site selection and data analyses of the Apollo space missions that brought to Earth the first rock samples from the Moon. Part of the meteorite Oued Awlitis 001 is now on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna.

Research Report: "A new lunar high-pressure Ca-Al-silicate with relevance for subducted terrestrial sediments"


Related Links

Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


MOON DAILY
NASA Crowdsources with HeroX to Find Solutions for Unloading Lunar Goods
Houston TX (SPX) Oct 30, 2020
HeroX, the social network for innovation and the world's leading platform for crowdsourced solutions, has launched the crowdsourcing competition "NASA's Lunar Delivery Challenge" on behalf of the NASA Tournament Lab (NTL) and NASA's Langley Research Center. The goal of NASA's Artemis program is to land the first woman and the next man on the surface of the Moon in 2024. By the next decade, NASA hopes to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon. In order to do that, a way to unload all of t ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

MOON DAILY
Geologists simulate soil conditions to help grow plants on Mars

Water on ancient Mars

NASA's Perseverance Rover Is Midway to Mars

Sensors on Mars 2020 Spacecraft Answer Long-Distance Call From Earth

MOON DAILY
Impact craters reveal details of Titan's dynamic surface weathering

NASA Scientists Discover 'Weird' Molecule in Titan's Atmosphere

ALMA shows volcanic impact on Io's atmosphere

Interplanetary storm chasing

MOON DAILY
NASA's Webb To Examine Objects in the Graveyard of the Solar System

Where were Jupiter and Saturn born?

Lighting a Path to Find Planet Nine

The mountains of Pluto are snowcapped, but not for the same reasons as on Earth

MOON DAILY
International Space Station marks 20 years of humans on board

China's Mars probe completes third orbital correction

After 20 years, Glenn continues to support the ISS

Cygnus delivers slew of research programs to Space Station

MOON DAILY
Scientists explain the paradox of quantum forces in nanodevices

Rice rolls out next-gen nanocars

Nano particles for healthy tissue

Hybrid nanomaterials hold promise for improved ceramic composites

MOON DAILY
Sounding Rocket to See What Keeps Intergalactic Space Sizzling

Rockets need intelligence booster, say engineers

Rocket Lab launches 15th Mission - deploys sats Planet and Canon

Rocket Lab demos new Kick Stage for in-space maneuvers

MOON DAILY
China Focus: 18 reserve astronauts selected for China's manned space program

State-owned space giant prepares for giant step in space

China's Xichang launch center to carry out 10 missions by end of March

Eighteen new astronauts chosen for China's space station mission

MOON DAILY
NanoAvionics goes hyper-spectral

NXTCOMM leases capacity on Eutelsat for its electronically steered antenna

France using ExoOPSTM software for mission design and satellite operation

Computer from RUAG Space controls environmental satellite Sentinel-6









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.