Two-billion-year-old volcanism on the Moon from Chang’e-5 basalts

Qiu-Li Li, Qin Zhou, Yu Liu, Zhiyong Xiao, Yangting Lin, Jin-Hua Li, Hong-Xia Ma, Guo-Qiang Tang, Shun Guo, Xu Tang, Jiang-Yan Yuan, Jiao Li, Fu-Yuan Wu, Ziyuan Ouyang, Chunlai Li () and Xian-Hua Li ()
Additional contact information
Qiu-Li Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qin Zhou: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yu Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhiyong Xiao: Sun Yat-sen University
Yangting Lin: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jin-Hua Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hong-Xia Ma: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guo-Qiang Tang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shun Guo: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xu Tang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jiang-Yan Yuan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jiao Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Fu-Yuan Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ziyuan Ouyang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chunlai Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xian-Hua Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature, 2021, vol. 600, issue 7887, 54-58

Abstract: Abstract The Moon has a magmatic and thermal history that is distinct from that of the terrestrial planets1. Radioisotope dating of lunar samples suggests that most lunar basaltic magmatism ceased by around 2.9–2.8 billion years ago (Ga)2,3, although younger basalts between 3 Ga and 1 Ga have been suggested by crater-counting chronology, which has large uncertainties owing to the lack of returned samples for calibration4,5. Here we report a precise lead–lead age of 2,030 ± 4 million years ago for basalt clasts returned by the Chang’e-5 mission, and a 238U/204Pb ratio (µ value)6 of about 680 for a source that evolved through two stages of differentiation. This is the youngest crystallization age reported so far for lunar basalts by radiometric dating, extending the duration of lunar volcanism by approximately 800–900 million years. The µ value of the Chang’e-5 basalt mantle source is within the range of low-titanium and high-titanium basalts from Apollo sites (µ value of about 300–1,000), but notably lower than those of potassium, rare-earth elements and phosphorus (KREEP) and high-aluminium basalts7 (µ value of about 2,600–3,700), indicating that the Chang’e-5 basalts were produced by melting of a KREEP-poor source. This age provides a pivotal calibration point for crater-counting chronology in the inner Solar System and provides insight on the volcanic and thermal history of the Moon.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04100-2

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