Morphological observation and mineralogical analysis of basaltic debris from a Chang'e-5 drilled lunar soil sample
Hong‐Tao Cao, Meng Zou, Wei Zhang, Xinyang Li, Xinyang Li, Rui Zhang, Qing Liang, Zhen-Zhen Zhao, Zizhun Wang, Zizhun Wang, Nailin Yue, Xicheng Li, Xicheng Li, Fangfei Li, Qiang Zhou
Abstract
This paper analyzes the morphological characteristics and mineralogy of drilled basaltic clast sample CE5Z0806YJYX004, compares the variations in Chang'e-5 samples at different depths, and conducts a comparative analysis with surface-collected samples from Chang'e-5 and Apollo missions. Interestingly, Advanced electron microscopy identified bubbles and microcracks on the surface of some constituting mineral particles, and also displays crystalline particles with distinct rock textures and spherical droplets, revealing surface phenomena formed by space weathering. Based on Raman spectroscopy analysis, the main mineral phases were identified as 49.6 vol% pyroxene, 31.4 vol% plagioclase and 8.8 vol% olivine. Apatite, ilmenite and cristobalite are also found. The results indicate that the Chang'e-5 lunar soil exhibits similar mineral compositions at different depths. In short, a comparison was made between our drilling sample and the Chang'e-5 soil samples as well as samples from the Apollo mission series, demonstrating the physical similarities and some variations.