A giant impact crater on the moon may contain primordial pieces of the lunar mantle and remnants of an ancient magma ocean, researchers say. Crewmembers on upcoming Artemis missions could potentially return samples from the young mantle back to Earth, providing insight into the final stages of lunar formation.
Roughly 4.3 billion years ago, a relatively large object slammed into the surface of the moon, gouging the crust to form the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin. Samples from this impact remain strewn across the lunar surface, providing a snapshot of what the mantle looked like while it was still crystallizing.
