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<p>Lunar regolith has undergone prolonged space weathering, primarily driven by solar wind irradiation and micrometeorite impacts, which has substantially altered the mineral’s surface properties. The extent of solar wind radiation damage on mineral surfaces varies, depending on differences in the mineral structure, composition, and exposure duration. Here, we investigated space weathering features of two FIB foils from two Chang’e-6 lunar grains, minerals including chromite, titanomagnetite, ilmenite, pyroxene, and merrillite. These minerals exhibited diverse responses to solar wind irradiation with an increasing resistance sequence: pyroxene &lt; titanomagnetite &lt; ilmenite &lt; (chromite, merrillite). Through a comparative analysis of their damage characteristics, ilmenite generated a higher abundance of space weathering products (e.g., vesicles), suggesting it possesses superior resource utilization on the Moon. Furthermore, nanophase metallic iron (npFe<sup>0</sup>) formed in all iron-bearing minerals, with its particle size positively correlating with bulk iron content. In chromite, both the npFe<sup>0</sup> particle size and vesicle increased with prolonged solar wind radiation exposure. This study enhances our understanding of space weathering in lunar minerals, providing insights relevant to the evolution of lunar regolith, while also establishing its significance for guiding the in situ utilization of lunar surface resources.</p>

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A comparative study of radiation resistance and exposure history from Chang'e-6 lunar minerals

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月16日

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  • Haiyan Long,
  • Hong Tang,
  • Tian Zhang,
  • Bing Mo,
  • Chuanjiao Zhou,
  • Yuanyun Wen,
  • Xiongyao Li,
  • Jianzhong Liu

摘要

Lunar regolith has undergone prolonged space weathering, primarily driven by solar wind irradiation and micrometeorite impacts, which has substantially altered the mineral’s surface properties. The extent of solar wind radiation damage on mineral surfaces varies, depending on differences in the mineral structure, composition, and exposure duration. Here, we investigated space weathering features of two FIB foils from two Chang’e-6 lunar grains, minerals including chromite, titanomagnetite, ilmenite, pyroxene, and merrillite. These minerals exhibited diverse responses to solar wind irradiation with an increasing resistance sequence: pyroxene < titanomagnetite < ilmenite < (chromite, merrillite). Through a comparative analysis of their damage characteristics, ilmenite generated a higher abundance of space weathering products (e.g., vesicles), suggesting it possesses superior resource utilization on the Moon. Furthermore, nanophase metallic iron (npFe0) formed in all iron-bearing minerals, with its particle size positively correlating with bulk iron content. In chromite, both the npFe0 particle size and vesicle increased with prolonged solar wind radiation exposure. This study enhances our understanding of space weathering in lunar minerals, providing insights relevant to the evolution of lunar regolith, while also establishing its significance for guiding the in situ utilization of lunar surface resources.