Research on lunar meteorite and moon crater analogues coincides with Science Week.
Researchers at the Australian Synchrotron are currently collaborating on a particularly rare, other-worldly sample; a lunar meteorite. “Although we do work on the moons of the outer planets, I believe this is our first sample from Earth’s moon, which could be more than four billion years old,” said Dr Helen Brand, planetary geologist and senior beamline scientist at the Australian Synchrotron.
Lunar meteorites are rocks found on Earth that were ejected from the Moon by the impact of an asteroid or another body. “These objects, which originate primarily from the moon’s crust, are extremely rare and precious. Because of their scarcity, scientists often use analogues or man-made versions of meteorites for investigations. “At the moment it is quite exciting as I have two projects relating to actual and analogue lunar objects, both of which are scheduled for the Imaging and Medical Beamline at the Synchrotron,” she said. n, which could be more than four billion years old,” said Dr Helen Brand, planetary geologist and senior beamline scientist at the Australian Synchrotron.
>Read more on the Australian Synchrotron at ANSTO website