Ultra-depleted mantle source of basalts from the South Pole-Aitken basin.

Lunar mare basalts illuminate the nature of the Moon's mantle, the lunar compositional asymmetry and the early lunar magma ocean (LMO). However, the characteristics of the mantle beneath the vast South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin on the lunar farside remain a mystery. Here we present the petrology and geochemistry of basalt fragments from Chang'e-6 (CE6), the first returned lunar farside samples from the SPA basin.

Persistent but weak magnetic field at the Moon's midstage revealed by Chang'e-5 basalt.

The evolution of the lunar magnetic field can reveal the Moon's interior structure, thermal history, and surface environment. The mid-to-late-stage evolution of the lunar magnetic field is poorly constrained, and thus, the existence of a long-lived lunar dynamo remains controversial. The Chang'e-5 mission returned the heretofore youngest mare basalts from Oceanus Procellarum uniquely positioned at midlatitude.

A reinforced lunar dynamo recorded by Chang'e-6 farside basalt.

The evolution of the lunar dynamo is essential for deciphering the deep interior structure, thermal history and surface environment of the Moon. Previous palaeomagnetic investigations on samples returned from the nearside of the Moon have established the general variation of the lunar magnetic field. However, limited spatial and temporal palaeomagnetic constraints leave the evolution of the lunar dynamo ambiguous.

Lunar farside volcanism 2.8 billion years ago from Chang'e-6 basalts.

Unravelling the volcanic history of the enigmatic lunar farside is essential for understanding the hemispheric dichotomy of the Moon. Cratering chronology established for the lunar nearside has been used to suggest long-lived volcanism on the farside of the Moon but without sample verification. We describe two episodes of basaltic volcanism identified by Pb-Pb dating of basalt fragments returned by the Chang'e-6 mission.

Nature of the lunar far-side samples returned by the Chang'E-6 mission.

The Chang'E-6 (CE-6) mission successfully achieved return of the first samples from the far side of the Moon. The sampling site of CE-6 is located in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin-the largest, deepest and oldest impact basin on the Moon. The 1935.

High-Resolution Cathodoluminescence Images of Igneous and Metamorphic Monazite.

Monazite is one of the most important dating accessory minerals for deciphering geological processes. The growth history of monazite can be identified by its internal structure; thus, high-resolution imaging is necessary for in situ U-Th-Pb dating. In this study, cathodoluminescence (CL) techniques were optimized via the key parameters of working distance, accelerating voltage, and beam current and were then applied to monazites from igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Non-KREEP origin for Chang'e-5 basalts in the Procellarum KREEP Terrane.

Mare volcanics on the Moon are the key record of thermo-chemical evolution throughout most of lunar history. Young mare basalts-mainly distributed in a region rich in potassium, rare-earth elements and phosphorus (KREEP) in Oceanus Procellarum, called the Procellarum KREEP Terrane (PKT)-were thought to be formed from KREEP-rich sources at depth. However, this hypothesis has not been tested with young basalts from the PKT.

The appearance and duration of the Jehol Biota: Constraint from SIMS U-Pb zircon dating for the Huajiying Formation in northern China.

The Lower Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of the Sichakou Basin in northern Hebei Province, northern China contains key vertebrate taxa of the early Jehol Biota, e.g., , , , and This formation arguably documents the second-oldest bird-bearing horizon, producing the oldest fossil records of the two major Mesozoic avian groups Enantiornithes and Ornithuromorpha.