Water, Hydrogen, Deuterium, Carbon, Carbon-13, and Oxygen-18 Content of Selected Lunar Material

Friedman, Irving; O’Neil, James R.; Adami, L.; Gleason, Jim D.; Hardcastle, Kenneth

doi:10.1126/science.167.3918.538

Cited by 41 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In the early 1970s, soon after Apollo astronauts brought back lunar samples to Earth, numerous workers measured water and hydrogen contents, and H isotopic compositions of lunar soils and regolith breccias [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. Stepwise heating of these samples was used to analyse molecular H 2 and H 2 O; H 2 being usually extracted at higher temperature (more than 500 • C) than H 2 O (less than 500 • C).…”

Section: (A) Initial Bulk Sample Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the origin and evolution of water in the Moon through lunar sample studies

Anand

Tartèse

Barnes

2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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A paradigm shift has recently occurred in our knowledge and understanding of water in the lunar interior. This has transpired principally through continued analysis of returned lunar samples using modern analytical instrumentation. While these recent studies have undoubtedly measured indigenous water in lunar samples they have also highlighted our current limitations and some future challenges that need to be overcome in order to fully understand the origin, distribution and evolution of water in the lunar interior. Another exciting recent development in the field of lunar science has been the unambiguous detection of water or water ice on the surface of the Moon through instruments flown on a number of orbiting spacecraft missions. Considered together, sample-based studies and those from orbit strongly suggest that the Moon is not an anhydrous planetary body, as previously believed. New observations and measurements support the possibility of a wet lunar interior and the presence of distinct reservoirs of water on the lunar surface. Furthermore, an approach combining measurements of water abundance in lunar samples and its hydrogen isotopic composition has proved to be of vital importance to fingerprint and elucidate processes and source(s) involved in giving rise to the lunar water inventory. A number of sources are likely to have contributed to the water inventory of the Moon ranging from primordial water to meteorite-derived water ice through to the water formed during the reaction of solar wind hydrogen with the lunar soil. Perhaps two of the most striking findings from these recent studies are the revelation that at least some portions of the lunar interior are as water-rich as some Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt source regions on Earth and that the water in the Earth and the Moon probably share a common origin.

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Section: (A) Initial Bulk Sample Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the origin and evolution of water in the Moon through lunar sample studies

Anand

Tartèse

Barnes

2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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“…in the recrystallized phases. Absence of hydrous mineral phases and the extremely low water content in lunar materials (Friedman et al, 1970) indicate that recrystallization of shocked fragments in the regolith (and microbreccias?) proceeds mainly as a thermally-activated process operating on the metastable glasses.…”

Section: Evidence For Shock Damage In the Lunar Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nature of the Moon's surface: evidence from shock metamorphism in Apollo 11 and 12 samples

Short

1970

Icarus

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“…For example, during the Apollo program there were several reports of water or hydrous minerals in lunar samples 10,11 , but the D/H of this water was indistinguishable from Earth's atmospheric water vapor, consistent with terrestrial contamination 2,3 . The δD value 12 of Earth's water ranges from ~ -500‰ to ~ +100‰, with the majority of values in the -200‰ to +50‰ range; ocean water does not deviate greatly from a mean δD value of 0‰ 13 .…”

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confidence: 98%

Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar rocks indicate delivery of cometary water to the Moon

et al. 2011

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Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar rocks and the delivery of cometary water to the MoonWater plays a critical role in the evolution of planetary bodies 1 , and determination of the amount and sources of lunar water has profound implications for our understanding of the history of the Earth-Moon system. During the Apollo program, the lunar samples were found to be devoid of indigeneous water 2,3 . The severe depletion of lunar volatiles 4 , including water, has long been seen as strong support for the giant-impact origin of the Moon 5 . Recent studies have found water in lunar volcanic glasses 6 and in lunar apatite 7-9 , but the sources of lunar water have not been determined. Here we report ion microprobe measurements of water and hydrogen isotopes in the hydrous mineral apatite, found in crystalline lunar mare basalts and highlands rocks collected during the Apollo missions. We find significant water in apatite from both mare and highlands rocks, indicating a role for water during all phases of the Moon's magmatic history. Variations of hydrogen isotope ratios in apatite suggest the lunar mantle, solar wind protons, and comets as possible sources for water in lunar rocks and imply a significant delivery of cometary water to the Earth-Moon system shortly after the Moon-forming impact.

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Water, Hydrogen, Deuterium, Carbon, Carbon-13, and Oxygen-18 Content of Selected Lunar Material

Cited by 41 publications

References 14 publications

Understanding the origin and evolution of water in the Moon through lunar sample studies

Understanding the origin and evolution of water in the Moon through lunar sample studies

The nature of the Moon's surface: evidence from shock metamorphism in Apollo 11 and 12 samples

Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar rocks indicate delivery of cometary water to the Moon

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