Crawford, Ian and Fagents, S.A. and Joy, K.H. and Rumpf, M.E. (2010) Lunar palaeoregolith deposits as recorders of the galactic environment of the solar system and implications for astrobiology. Earth, Moon, and Planets 107 (1), pp. 75-85. ISSN 0167-9295.
Abstract
One of the principal scientific reasons for wanting to resume in situ exploration of the lunar surface is to gain access to the record it contains of early Solar System history. Part of this record will pertain to the galactic environment of the Solar System, including variations in the cosmic ray flux, energetic galactic events (e.g., supernovae and/or gamma-ray bursts), and passages of the Solar System through dense interstellar clouds. Much of this record is of astrobiological interest as these processes may have affected the evolution of life on Earth, and perhaps other Solar System bodies. We argue that this galactic record, as for that of more local Solar System processes also of astrobiological interest, will be best preserved in ancient, buried regolith (‘palaeoregolith’) deposits in the lunar near sub-surface. Locating and sampling such deposits will be an important objective of future lunar exploration activities.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | moon, lunar regolith, galactic history, galactic structure, lunar exploration, astrobiology |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Sarah Hall |
| Date Deposited: | 17 May 2016 15:55 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:23 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/15210 |
Statistics
Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.
Archive Staff Only (login required)
