月壤中的稀有气体

月球极度亏损挥发分,但是月壤中赋存有大量的稀有气体,主要来源于太阳风注入、宇宙射线作用和放射性同位素衰变等过程。月岩和月壤样品的稀有气体研究,不仅是获取月球表面形成和演化历史、近地空间小行星撞击历史等的重要内容,更是解译40亿年以来太阳风演化的惟一可行途径。本文主要介绍月岩和月壤中的太阳风记录、宇宙射线暴露年龄、Ar-Ar定年以及稀有气体测试技术等方面研究的进展。     

月壤中纳米金属铁的太空风化成因及模拟方法分析

月壤中普遍存在着大量由太空风化作用产生的纳米金属铁,这些纳米金属铁在一定程度上改变了月球表面的物理、化学和光学特征.纳米金属铁在月壤中主要赋存于胶结质玻璃相中和月壤颗粒的表面,胶结质玻璃相的纳米金属铁起源于微陨石轰击富含太阳风氢粒子的月壤产生的高温熔融还原作用,颗粒表面的纳米金属铁来自微陨石轰击引起的蒸发沉积作用和太阳...     

月壤的物理和机械性质

月壤是在O2、水、风和生命活动都不存在的情况下，由陨石和微陨石撞击、宇宙射线和太阳风轰击、月表温差导致岩石热胀冷缩破碎等因素的共同作用下形成的。月壤独特的形成过程，加上独特的月表环境，使月壤在粒度分布、颗粒形态、颗粒比重、孔隙比和孔隙率、电性和电磁性质、压缩性、抗剪性、承载力等方面均与地球土壤存在较大差异，这些参数的平均值和最佳估计值，可以作为月表机械设计和操作、宇航员装备设计、月球着陆场选址的主要依据，对月球资源开发和利用以及月球基地建设具有极其重要的意义。     

嫦娥五号着陆区月壤的太空风化改造特征

月壤是月球科学与工程探测的主要目标物和承载物，也是人类认识月球的主要信息来源。太空风化作用是决定月壤形成，特别是演化过程的关键因素。本文系统总结了近两年来围绕嫦娥五号着陆区月壤的太空风化改造特征所取得的阶段性研究进展，特别是单质金属铁的多种成因机制、硫化物的风化改造特征和太阳风成因水等。上述研究成果的取得，为准确认识月壤特性，反演月壤形成与时空演化历史以及评估月壤资源特性奠定了良好的基础。最后结合我国后续月球探测工程规划，提出了新的研究方向与目标。     

月壤颗粒微观环带的太空风化成因

太空风化是迄今31亿年以来影响月球表面物质演化过程的主要因素,主要包括陨石、微陨石的轰击,太阳风粒子的注入,太阳/银河宇宙射线的辐射以及周期性的加热作用等。通过深入剖析太阳风粒子的注入与溅射、微陨石轰击的蒸发与沉积、宇宙射线辐射的辐射损伤等过程的作用机理,探讨了不同太空风化过程对矿物颗粒环带厚度、化学组成、晶体结构等特征的影响,认为微陨石轰击与太阳风注入是形成月壤颗粒微观环带的主导因素,宇宙射线辐射与周期性加热的影响可忽略不计。进一步结合非晶质环带、富内含物环带、多环环带以及小泡环带等月壤颗粒主要环带的基本特征,在总结和对比分析各类型环带的厚度、结构以及化学组成特征基础上,对不同类型环带的成因进行初步推断,认为非晶质环带、小泡环带以及多环环带的内层环带具有太阳风作用特征,而富内含物环带、多环环带的外层环带则具有微陨石轰击的成因特征。根据目前单纯依靠环带的化学组成分析解释环带成因存在的不足,指出了通过补充分析矿物晶体结构在模拟太空风化实验过程中的变化特征来研究环带成因的新思路。     

月球表面的环境特征

本文通过对月球探测资料和研究结果的系统分析,认为月球体积小、质量轻、离太阳较近(温度高)等因素是月球只有极为稀薄大气层的原因;论证了月球极地阴影区存在水冰的证据,并计算出水资源量约为66亿吨。研究了月壤中氦-3的含量与月壤颗粒大小、矿物组成、元素成分和结构特征的关系,并估算了氦-3的资源量;探讨了月球表面的反射率;综合分析了月球区域性磁场的形成机制。     

月球某些资源的开发利用前景

21世纪月球探测的主要趋势是建立月球基地，开发利用月球的矿产资源，能源和特殊环境，为人类社会的可持续发展发挥长期而有效的支撑作用，通过对月海玄武岩中的钛铁矿，克里普岩中的U，Th,REE和月壤中的拟－3在月面的含量与分布的系统分析，月海玄武碉中蕴藏有极丰富的钛铁矿，TiO2总资源量超过70万亿t，钛铁矿还是月球基地生产水和火箭燃料的主要原料；克里普岩是未来月球探测与研究的热点之一，其蕴藏有巨量的铀，钍，钾，磷和稀土元素资源；月壤长期受到太阳风的辐射，使其蕴藏有极其丰富的氢，氦，氧，氮等气体资源，其中氦－3的资源量大于100万t，它是一种可供人类社会长期使用的，安全，清洁，高效，廉价的核聚变发电燃料，其含量与月壤的化学成分，矿物组分，颗粒大小等有密切的关系。     

月面环境与月壤特性研究的主要问题探讨

月面环境与月壤特性是月球探测和月球科学研究的重要基础,对它们的研究一直在不断加深,本文对月球表面地形地貌、热环境以及月壤特性三个方面的研究现状进行了总结,初步分析了这三个方面研究目前存在的一些主要问题：（1）地形地貌对月球定量遥感的影响以及南极艾特肯（SPA）盆地等地貌单元的年代学划分和成因演化;（2）月面热辐射、月表物理温度和热流等月面热环境特征的进一步探测和全面分析,以及其对地球反照率变化的响应;（3）月壤形成演化过程及空间风化作用,月球极区氢富集机制和水冰探测,以及月球资源开发利用。     

月球陨石稀有气体和宇宙暴露年龄研究进展与展望

稀有气体及宇宙射线暴露(CRE)年龄是研究月球陨石辐射历史的重要媒介,其能够反演陨石所经历的表土层地质过程。本文收集了月球陨石的所有稀有气体浓度、同位素比值和CRE年龄数据,结合前人研究成果进行了对比分析,结果显示,月球陨石角砾岩和非角砾岩稀有气体分别具有"三峰三谷"式和"两峰"式分配模式,且稀有气体浓度从非角砾岩、角砾岩到表土角砾岩逐渐增高;月球陨石不存在太阳高能粒子组分(SEP),但存在太阳风分馏组分(FSW)的可能;月球陨石具有两个不同的CRE年龄,分别为指代地月转移时间的T_(4π)年龄和陨石在表土层受到宇宙射线辐射累积时间的T_(2π)年龄。表土角砾岩和非表土角砾岩的T_(2π)年龄分别约为400~1000 Ma和28~60 Ma,而月球陨石的T_(4π)年龄为(0.4±0.9)Ma;月球陨石在表土层中的埋深为0~7.5 m,其宇宙射线辐射起始年龄普遍大于T_(2π)年龄。未来月球陨石稀有气体研究有望在宇宙成因稀有气体_(2π)产率模型、月球原生稀有气体和紫外激光原位稀有气体测试方法方面取得进展。     

月球电离层探测与研究

从20世纪60年代到本世纪初,人类发射了一系列绕月飞船,对月球大气和月球电离层进行研究。科学家发现,月球电离层主要出现在向日面。在表面几百米高度范围内,由太阳辐射导致的光致电离使得月球向日面出现密度不超过10^10／m2的电离层等离子体。进一步研究表明,由于月球没有内禀磁场,月球电离层与太阳风中的行星际电场耦合在一起,时刻处在“飘动”中。电离层密度的变化与月相、当地的月表剩磁、太阳风条件、当地的月壤特性等相联系。     

Do lunar and meteoritic archives record temporal variations in the composition of solar wind noble gases and nitrogen? A reassessment in the light of Genesis data

Since about half a century samples from the lunar and asteroidal regoliths been used to derive information about elemental and isotopic composition and other properties of the present and past solar wind, predominantly for the noble gases and nitrogen. Secular changes of several important compositional parameters in the solar wind were proposed, as was a likely secular decrease of the solar wind flux. In 2004 NASA’s Genesis mission returned samples which had been exposed to the solar wind for almost 2.5 years. Their analyses resulted in an unprecendented accuracy for the isotopic and elemental composition of several elements in the solar wind, including noble gases, O and N. The Genesis data therefore also allow to re-evaluate the lunar and meteorite data, which is done here. In particular, claims for long-term changes of solar wind composition are reviewed.Outermost grain layers from relatively recently irradiated lunar regolith samples conserve the true isotopic ratios of implanted solar wind species. This conclusion had been made before Genesis based on the agreement of He and Ne isotopic data measured in the aluminum foils exposed to the solar wind on the Moon during the Apollo missions with data obtained in the first gas release fractions of stepwise in-vacuo etch experiments. Genesis data allowed to strengthen this conclusion and to extend it to all five noble gases. Minor variations in the isotopic compositions of implanted solar noble gases between relatively recently irradiated samples (<100 Ma) and samples irradiated billions of years ago are very likely the result of isotopic fractionation processes that happened after trapping of the gases rather than indicative of true secular changes in the solar wind composition. This is particularly important for the ³He/⁴He ratio, whose constancy over billions of years indicates that hardly any ³He produced as transient product of the pp-chains has been mixed from the solar interior into its outer convective zone. The He isotopic composition measured in the present-day solar wind therefore is identical to the (D + ³He)/⁴He ratio at the start of the suns’s main sequence phase and hence can be used to determine the protosolar D/H ratio.Genesis settled the long-standing controversy on the isotopic composition of nitrogen in lunar regolith samples. The ¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratio in the solar wind as measured by Genesis is lower than in any lunar sample. This proves that nitrogen in regolith samples is dominated by non-solar sources. A postulated secular increase of ¹⁵N/¹⁴N by some 30% over the past few Ga is not tenable any longer. Genesis also provided accurate data on the isotopic composition of oxygen in the solar wind, invaluable for cosmochemisty. These data superseded but essentially confirmed one value – and disproved a second one – derived from lunar regolith samples shortly prior to Genesis.Genesis also confirmed prior conclusions that lunar regolith samples essentially conserve the true elemental ratios of the heavy noble gases in the solar wind (Ar/Kr, Kr/Xe). Several secular changes of elemental abundances of noble gases in the solar wind had been proposed based on lunar and meteoritic data. I argue here that lunar data – in concert with Genesis – provide convincing evidence only for a long-term decrease of the Kr/Xe ratio by almost a factor of two over the past several Ga. It appears that the enhancement of abundances of elements with a low first ionisation potential in the solar wind (FIP effect) changed with time.Finally, Genesis allows a somewhat improved comparison of the present-day flux of solar wind Kr and Xe with the total amount of heavy solar wind noble gases in the lunar regolith. It remains unclear whether the past solar wind flux has been several times higher on average than it is today.     

Noble Gases in the Lunar Regolith

The most fundamental character of lunar soil is its high concentrations of solar-wind-implanted elements, and the concentrations and behavior of the noble gases He, Ne, Ar, and Xe, which provide unique and extensive information about a broad range of fundamental problems. In this paper, the authors studied the forming mechanism of lunar regolith, and proposed that most of the noble gases in lunar regolith come from the solar wind. Meteoroid bombardment controls the maturity of lunar soil, with the degree of maturation decreasing with grain size; the concentrations of the noble gases would be of slight variation with the depth of lunar soil but tend to decrease with grain size. In addition, the concentrations of noble gases in lunar soil also show a close relationship with its mineral and chemical compositions. The utilization prospects of the noble gas ^3He in lunar regolith will be further discussed.     

History and origin of aubrites

The cosmic ray exposure (CRE) ages of aubrites are among the longest of stone meteorites. New aubrites have been recovered in Antarctica, and these meteorites permit a substantial extension of the database on CRE ages, compositional characteristics, and regolith histories. We report He, Ne, and Ar isotopic abundances of nine aubrites and discuss the compositional data, the CRE ages, and regolith histories of this class of achondrites. A Ne three-isotope correlation reveals a solar-type ratio of ²⁰Ne/²²Ne = 12.1, which is distinct from the present solar wind composition and lower than most ratios observed on the lunar surface. For some aubrites, the cosmic ray-produced noble gas abundances include components produced on the surface of the parent object. The Kr isotopic systematics reveal significant neutron-capture-produced excesses in four aubrites, which is consistent with Sm and Gd isotopic anomalies previously documented in some aubrites. The nominal CRE ages confirm a non-uniform distribution of exposure times, but the evidence for a CRE age cluster appears doubtful. Six meteorites are regolith breccias with solar-type noble gases, and the observed neutron effects indicate a regolith history. ALH aubrites, which were recovered from the same location and are considered to represent a multiple fall, yield differing nominal CRE ages and, if paired, document distinct precompaction histories.     

月球探测中月面热环境影响的研究现状

在月球探测中,多光谱、热红外、被动微波辐射等探测技术被广泛应用于月表物质组分和物理特性的探测,也积累了大量探测数据。月球太阳辐照、月球表面温度、地球反照和内部热流等月面热环境的变化,改变了月表物质反射率、热发射率以及其他电磁学等基本性质,制约了探测数据的准确解译;同时,大幅度的太阳辐射强度和月面温度变化也直接威胁月面探测中巡视探测器和宇航员的安全。但是,目前月球表面热环境对探测活动的影响认识还比较欠缺,月面热环境的时空变化规律认识还不够充分,在实验研究不足的情况下对各种探测方式的影响缺乏系统的理解。结合月球探测的发展,进一步立足实验手段和探测结果,通过开展不同地形条件下月面太阳辐射和物理温度的时间变化和空间分布规律研究、探测数据与月面热环境参数时空匹配问题研究、建设具备类似物质组成和月面热环境特征的实验场地以及开展系统的热环境影响模拟实验研究,全面认识月面热环境参数的时空变化规律,探讨月面热环境对不同探测方式的影响将是月面热环境研究的重要内容。     

Solar wind helium, neon, and argon isotopic and elemental composition: Data from the metallic glass flown on NASA’s Genesis mission

Solar wind (SW) helium, neon, and argon trapped in a bulk metallic glass (BMG) target flown on NASA’s Genesis mission were analyzed for their bulk composition and depth-dependent distribution. The bulk isotopic and elemental composition for all three elements is in good agreement with the mean values observed in the Apollo Solar Wind Composition (SWC) experiment. Conversely, the He fluence derived from the BMG is up to 30% lower than values reported from other Genesis bulk targets or in-situ measurements during the exposure period. SRIM implantation simulations using a uniform isotopic composition and the observed bulk velocity histogram during exposure reproduces the Ne and Ar isotopic variations with depth within the BMG in a way which is generally consistent with observations. The similarity of the BMG release patterns with the depth-dependent distributions of trapped solar He, Ne, and Ar found in lunar and asteroidal regolith samples shows that also the solar noble gas record of extraterrestrial samples can be explained by mass separation of implanted SW ions with depth. Consequently, we conclude that a second solar noble gas component in lunar samples, referred to as the “SEP” component, is not needed. On the other hand, a small fraction of the total solar gas in the BMG released from shallow depths is markedly enriched in the light isotopes relative to predictions from implantation simulations with a uniform isotopic composition. Contributions from a neutral solar or interstellar component are too small to explain this shallow sited gas. We tentatively attribute this superficially implanted gas to low-speed, current-sheet related SW, which was fractionated in the corona due to inefficient Coulomb drag. This fractionation process could also explain relatively high Ne/Ar elemental ratios in the same initial gas fraction.     

He implantation and concentrations in minerals and lunar regolith particles

Solar-wind erosion of rocks on the lunar surface and the implanting of solar-wind particles in minerals of lunar regolith are principally important processes of space weathering. The latter process leads to the accumulation of inert gases in mineral particles of lunar regolith. Literature data indicate that, depending on the composition and structure of the particles, the concentrations of implanted He in various minerals range within roughly three to four orders of magnitude. The lowest He implantation coefficient was determined in amorphous particles (glass), and very low implantation coefficients were also obtained in experiments on He implantation in glass (obsidian).     

Noble gas composition of the solar wind as collected by the Genesis mission

We present the elemental and isotopic composition of noble gases in the bulk solar wind collected by the NASA Genesis sample return mission. He, Ne, and Ar were analyzed in diamond-like carbon on a silicon substrate (DOS) and ^84,86Kr and ^129,132Xe in silicon targets by UV laser ablation noble gas mass spectrometry. Solar wind noble gases are quantitatively retained in DOS and with exception of He also in Si as shown by a stepwise heating experiment on a flown DOS target and analyses on other bulk solar wind collector materials. Solar wind data presented here are absolutely calibrated and the error of the standard gas composition is included in stated uncertainties. The isotopic composition of the light noble gases in the bulk solar wind is as follows: ³He/⁴He: (4.64 ± 0.09) × 10⁻⁴, ²⁰Ne/²²Ne: 13.78 ± 0.03, ²¹Ne/²²Ne: 0.0329 ± 0.0001, ³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar 5.47 ± 0.01. The elemental composition is: ⁴He/²⁰Ne: 656 ± 5, and ²⁰Ne/³⁶Ar 42.1 ± 0.3. Genesis provided the first Kr and Xe data on the contemporary bulk solar wind. The preliminary isotope and elemental composition is: ⁸⁶Kr/⁸⁴Kr: 0.302 ± 0.003, ¹²⁹Xe/¹³²Xe: 1.05 ± 0.02, ³⁶Ar/⁸⁴Kr 2390 ± 150, and ⁸⁴Kr/¹³²Xe 9.5 ± 1.0. The ³He/⁴He and the ⁴He/²⁰Ne ratios in the Genesis DOS target are the highest solar wind values measured in exposed natural and artificial targets. The isotopic composition of the other noble gases and the Kr/Xe ratio obtained in this work agree with data from lunar samples containing “young” (∼100 Ma) solar wind, indicating that solar wind composition has not changed within at least the last 100 Ma. Genesis could provide in many cases more precise data on solar wind composition than any previous experiment. Because of the controlled exposure conditions, Genesis data are also less prone to unrecognized systematic errors than, e.g., lunar sample analyses. The solar wind is the most authentic sample of the solar composition of noble gases, however, the derivation of solar noble gas abundances and isotopic composition using solar wind data requires a better understanding of fractionation processes acting upon solar wind formation.     

Irradiation records in regolith materials, II: Solar wind and solar energetic particle components in helium, neon, and argon extracted from single lunar mineral grains and from the Kapoeta howardite by stepwise pulse heating

High-resolution stepped heating has been used to extract light noble gases implanted in a suite of 13 individual lunar ilmenite and iron grains and in the Kapoeta howardite by solar wind (SW) and solar energetic particle (SEP) irradiation. Isotopic analyses of gases evolved at low temperatures from the lunar grains confirm the neon and argon compositions obtained by Pepin et al. (Pepin R. O., Becker R. H., and Schlutter D. J., “Irradiation records in regolith materials, I: Isotopic compositions of solar-wind neon and argon in single lunar regolith grains”, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta63, 2145-2162, 1999) in an initial study of 11 regolith grains, primarily ilmenites. Combination of the data sets from both investigations yields ²⁰Ne/²²Ne = 13.85 ± 0.04, ²¹Ne/²²Ne = 0.0334 ± 0.0003, and ³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar = 5.80 ± 0.06 for the lunar samples; the corresponding ³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar ratio in Kapoeta is 5.74 ± 0.06. The neon ratios agree well with those measured by Benkert et al. (Benkert J.-P., Baur H., Signer P., and Wieler R., “He, Ne, and Ar from the solar wind and solar energetic particles in lunar ilmenites and pyroxenes”, J. Geophys. Res. (Planets)98, 13147-13162, 1993) in gases extracted from bulk lunar ilmenite samples by stepped acid etching and attributed by them to the SW. The ³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar ratios, however, are significantly above both Benkert et al.’s (1993) proposed SW value of 5.48 ± 0.05 and a later estimate of 5.58 ± 0.03 from an acid-etch analysis of Kapoeta (Becker R. H., Schlutter D. J., Rider P. E., and Pepin R. O., “An acid-etch study of the Kapoeta achondrite: Implications for the argon-36/argon-38 ratio in the solar wind”, Meteorit. Planet. Sci.33, 109-113, 1998). We believe, for reasons discussed here and in our earlier report, that 5.80 ± 0.06 ratio most nearly represents the wind composition. The ³He/⁴He ratio in low-temperature gas releases, not measured in the first particle suite, is found in several grains to be indistinguishable from Benkert et al.’s (1993) SW estimate. Elemental ratios of He, Ne, and Ar initially released from grain-surface SW implantation zones are solar-like, as found earlier by Pepin et al. (1999). Gases evolved from these reservoirs at higher temperatures show evidence for perturbations from solar elemental compositions by prior He loss, thermal mobilization of excess Ne from fractionated SW components, or both.Attention in this second investigation was focused on estimating the isotopic compositions of both the SW and the more deeply sited SEP components in regolith grains. Several high-temperature “isotopic plateaus”—approximately constant isotopic ratios in gas fractions released over a number of consecutive heating steps—were observed in the close vicinities of the SEP ratios for He, Ne, and Ar reported by Benkert et al. (1993). Arguments presented in the text suggest that these plateaus are relatively free of interferences from multicomponent mixing artifacts that can mimic pure component signatures. Average SEP compositions derived from the stepped-heating plateau measurements are in remarkable agreement with the Zürich acid-etch values for all three gases.