Cosmogenic isotopic evidence from Chang’e-6 clasts for excavation history and ejecta provenance in the South Pole-Aitken basin
Abstract
Impact and space weathering play a key role in resurfacing the Moon, yet their effects on the lunar farside remain poorly constrained. Chang’e-6 (CE-6) samples provide a unique opportunity to understand space weathering and material redistributions within the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin. Our combined cosmogenic Sm, Hf, and Cr isotope results indicate an average cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) age of ~500 Ma for the CE-6 soil. Most low-Ti basaltic clasts experienced prolonged exposure similar to the host soil, whereas two were excavated more recently. Three KREEP-bearing clasts falling into two compositional groups show non-overlapping CRE ages, indicative of different excavation histories. Comparison with remote-sensing data suggests the Mg-rich pyroxene annulus and cryptomare as candidate source regions, respectively. These findings suggest that KREEP components are more widely distributed across the lunar farside than previously recognized.
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BibTeX
@article{zhou2026cosmogenic,
title = {{Cosmogenic isotopic evidence from Chang’e-6 clasts for excavation history and ejecta provenance in the South Pole-Aitken basin}},
author = {Mi Zhou and Yingnan Zhang and Jian Chen and Ruixuan Luo and Ziwei Wang and Zhiwei Zuo and Deliang Chen and Kewei Chen and Kecheng Liu and Ji Shen and Bailiang Liu and Liping Qin},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78270-w},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78270-w},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Cosmogenic isotopic evidence from Chang’e-6 clasts for excavation history and ejecta provenance in the South Pole-Aitken basin
AU - Mi Zhou
AU - Yingnan Zhang
AU - Jian Chen
AU - Ruixuan Luo
AU - Ziwei Wang
AU - Zhiwei Zuo
AU - Deliang Chen
AU - Kewei Chen
AU - Kecheng Liu
AU - Ji Shen
AU - Bailiang Liu
AU - Liping Qin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78270-w
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78270-w
AB - Impact and space weathering play a key role in resurfacing the Moon, yet their effects on the lunar farside remain poorly constrained. Chang’e-6 (CE-6) samples provide a unique opportunity to understand space weathering and material redistributions within the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin. Our combined cosmogenic Sm, Hf, and Cr isotope results indicate an average cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) age of ~500 Ma for the CE-6 soil. Most low-Ti basaltic clasts experienced prolonged exposure similar to the host soil, whereas two were excavated more recently. Three KREEP-bearing clasts falling into two compositional groups show non-overlapping CRE ages, indicative of different excavation histories. Comparison with remote-sensing data suggests the Mg-rich pyroxene annulus and cryptomare as candidate source regions, respectively. These findings suggest that KREEP components are more widely distributed across the lunar farside than previously recognized.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -