Overview
- A PNAS study reports seven microscopic olivine‑bearing clasts in far‑side material that match Ivuna‑type carbonaceous chondrites rather than lunar or terrestrial sources.
- Fe/Mn, NiO and Cr2O3 ratios, triple‑oxygen and silicon isotopes, and porphyritic textures indicate the fragments formed as impact melts that cooled rapidly.
- The fragments were found in samples from a crater within Apollo Basin in the South Pole–Aitken region, a site that concentrates ancient impact debris.
- The discovery provides direct physical evidence that fragile, water‑rich asteroids struck the Moon and left preserved traces in the regolith.
- Team analysis suggests CI‑like material could represent a much larger share of lunar impact relics—potentially up to about 30%—and calls for further sample‑return missions and independent analyses to refine those estimates.