In this chapter, we present and discuss in detail current and novel advances in our
understanding of the processes that drove primordial differentiation of the Moon. This …

The current state of understanding of the lunar interior is the sum of nearly four decades of
work and a range of exploration programs spanning that same time period. Missions of the …

High-resolution gravity data obtained from the dual Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory
(GRAIL) spacecraft show that the bulk density of the Moon's highlands crust is 2550 …

We present crystallization experiments on silicate melt compositions related to the lunar
magma ocean (LMO) and its evolution with cooling. Our approach aims at constraining the …

The surface of the Moon is a critical boundary that shapes our understanding of the Moon as
a whole. All geologic map** and remote sensing techniques utilize only the outermost …

Gamma ray spectroscopy data acquired by Lunar Prospector are used to determine global
maps of the elemental composition of the lunar surface. Maps of the abundance of major …

It has been thought that the lunar highland crust was formed by the crystallization and
floatation of plagioclase from a global magma ocean,, although the actual generation …

Abstract The 2-Gyr-old Chang'e-5 samples are the youngest lunar basaltic regolith returned
to Earth and can provide information on the lithological diversity and regolith gardening …

Lunar meteorites are fragments of consolidated rock that were ejected from the Moon when
it was struck by an impacting asteroid or comet, entered an Earth-crossing orbit, and …

1609 AD marked the beginning of the modern scientific exploration of the Moon's crust when
Thomas Harriot and later Galileo Galilei made the first recorded maps of the nearside with …