Unworldly discovery makes an impact

Curtin University-led geological research has proved that meteorites collide with the moon by examining zircon mineral grains in lunar rock samples.

Microstructural geological experts Dr Nick Timms and Professor Steven Reddy of the Western Australian School of Mines headed the study, where microscopic analysis of lunar rock samples from NASA’s Apollo space missions revealed the impact-related shock features.

Dr Timms said the research aimed to document, explain and characterize the discovery of the lunar shock features and that it was a step towards predicting the timing of meteorite and moon collisions.

“This research is the first to report the presence of PDFs [planar deformation features] and micro-twins [impact indicators] in lunar zircon, which provide unequivocal evidence of the immense pressures that occur during an impact event,” he said.

“This research also provides a new explanation of how these features form.

“The new conceptual framework allows lunar scientists to recognize whether complex zircon grains can be explained by a single impact event, or require more than one impact event.”

This research was the result of a collaborative effort between the Curtin research group in Applied Geology, Dr Nick Timms, Professor Steven Reddy, Associate Professor Alexander Nemchin, Dr Marion Grange and Professor Bob Pidgeon, as well as Dr Rob Hart from the Materials Characterisation Group in Curtin Applied Physics and Dr Dave Healy at the University of Aberdeen, UK.