Western postdoctoral fellow Tara Hayden with a lunar meteorite, which was not a part of the study, in the Earth and Planetary Materials Analysis Laboratory. (Photo by Christopher Kindratsky)
Western postdoctoral fellow Tara Hayden with a lunar meteorite, which was not a part of the study, in the Earth and Planetary Materials Analysis Laboratory. (Photo by Christopher Kindratsky) - New research from Western University shows the early lunar crust, which makes up the surface of the Moon, was considerably enriched in water more than 4 billion years ago, counter to previously held understanding. The discovery is outlined in a study published today in the journal Nature Astronomy . Working with a meteorite she classified as one that came from the Moon while a graduate student at The Open University (U.K. Tara Hayden identified, for the first time, the mineral apatite (the most common phosphate) in a sample of early lunar crust. The lunar meteorite sample Tara Hayden investigated and successfully discovered the water-bearing mineral apatite. The research offers exciting new evidence that the Moon's early crust contained more water than was originally thought, opening new doors into the study of lunar history.
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