LUNAR DATA SUPPORT IDEA THAT COLLISION SPLIT EARTH, MOON

Analysis of data from NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft has confrmed that the Moon
has a small core, supporting the theory that the bulk of the Moon was ripped away from the
early arth when an ob!ect the si"e of Mars collided with the arth#
Scientists presented this result and other fndings today in a series of papers at the $%th
Lunar and Planetary Science &onference in 'ouston, ()# (heir data show that the lunar core
contains less than four percent of the Moon's total mass, with the probable *alue being two
percent or slightly less# (his is *ery small when compared with the arth, whose iron core
contains appro+imately $% percent of the planet's mass#
,(his is a critical fnding in helping scientists determine how the arth and Moon formed,,
said -r# Alan .inder of the Lunar /esearch 0nstitute, (ucson, A1, principal in*estigator for
Lunar Prospector#
Similarities in the mineral composition of the arth and the Moon indicate that they share a
common origin# 'owe*er, if they had simply formed form the same cloud of rocks and dust,
the Moon would ha*e a core similar in proportion to the arth's# A third theory suggests that
the moon was captured fully intact by the arth's gra*ity#
.ased on information frst gathered during the Apollo era, scientists suggested that the
Moon was formed when a Mars2si"ed body hit the arth during its earliest history# ,(his
impact occurred after the arth's iron core had formed, e!ecting rocky, iron2poor material
from the outer shell into orbit,, .inder e+plained# ,0t was this material that collected to form
the Moon#
,3urther analysis of Lunar Prospector data to refne the e+act si"e of the lunar core and
the amounts of elements like gold, platinum and iridium in lunar rocks 22 all of which are
concentrated with metallic iron 22 is re4uired,, .inder added# ,(his will do much to pin down
for good if the 'giant impact' model of the formation of the Moon is correct, or if the Moon
formed in a di5erent manner#,
(he current data come from gra*ity measurements conducted by -r# Ale+ 6onopli* of
NASA's 7et Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, &A# 'is results indicate that the Moon's core
radius is between 89% and :;% miles <::% and 9=% kilometers># (his result is consistent with
independent magnetic data, e*aluated by -r# Lon 'ood of the ?ni*ersity of Ari"ona, (ucson,
which suggest that the core radius is between 8;% and :@% miles <$%% and 9:= km>#
0n other results from Lunar Prospector, -r# /obert Lin of the ?ni*ersity of &alifornia at
.erkeley, -r# Mario Acuna of NASA's Aoddard Space 3light &enter, Areenbelt, M-, and 'ood
also found that a broad section of the southern far2side of the Moon has large locali"ed
magnetic felds in its crust# (hese felds occur opposite the large &risium, Serenitatis and
0mbrium basins 22 three of the ,seas, that co*er much of the Moon's near side# (his result
supports earlier e*idence linking strong magneti"ed concentrations on one side of the Moon
with young, large impact basins on the other side#
/esults of e5orts to map the composition of the lunar crust ha*e surpassed the
e+pectations of the spectrometer team, led by -r# Billiam 3eldman of the -epartment of
nergy's Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Me+ico# -ata obtained are so good that the
distribution of thorium has been mapped with a resolution of $@ miles <@% kilometers># At this
amount of detail, scientists can detect indi*idual deposits rich in thorium and related
elements# (heir current obser*ations suggest that thorium was e+ca*ated by impacts of
asteroids and comets, and then distributed around craters, rather than being deposited by
*olcanic acti*ity#