A new protocol was developed to mount valuable and rare samples allocated in small amounts preventing loss of Xe and demounting.
Combining multiple analytical techniques allowed (1) distinguishing volcanic from impact glasses, (2) the observation of bubbles/vesicles in volcanic glasses suggesting loss of gas from the melt (3) evaluation of the volume percent of the different phases in lunar basalts enabling proper interpretation of age data (4) the identification of U-bearing mineral phases for in-situ U/Pb age determination. I have shown that diverse datasets can be acquired from a mere ~50mg (2-4 mm diameter) of single-lithology lunar regolith fragments, yielding information regarding the sample’s geologic history, including events that may have affected its original composition and texture, and also paths on the lunar surface as a particle of the lunar regolith. This is vital for understanding subsequent noble gas analysis.
My work on the chronology of the lunar surface has wide implications for our understanding of the origin of life and the nature of the environment experienced by early organisms.
I instigated a cross-European network for inter-calibration of age dating labs and to source a new supply of the Hb3gr standard for the widely used 40Ar/39Ar technique widely used across terrestrial geoscience. Around 500 new vials have been produced, they are stored at the GeoForschung Zentrum (GFZ) in Potsdam, Germany and available to the community.
I have helped expand European capacity to participate in planetary science by collaborating with the Ar-laboratory at the Technical University of Freiberg, Germany to develop their capabilities in analysis of extraterrestrial samples to match the terrestrial expertise they have developed since establishment early in the 21st century.
My project illustrates the immense scientific resource preserved on the lunar surface. I passionately believe that this is part of humanity’s collective inheritance, and am concerned that the ethical aspects of using the resources in the lunar surface to support exploration and, potentially, industry (in situ resource utilization - ISRU) are insufficiently considered. During the project, I was able to organize a workshop immediately after the European Lunar Symposium in 2019 at the University of Manchester: The Moon as a ‘contact zone’ to other worlds: an interdisciplinary workshop. This brought together scientists, social scientists and interested members of the general public to discuss means to avoid the repeated colonialist mind-set in which many are planning ventures to other worlds. As a consequence, I was invited to present “The Moon is NOT ours” at the British Science Festival in Coventry in September 2019. I have taken part in a wide range of activities to disseminate information about my project and lunar science in general across the UK, Germany, Portugal, China and Vietnam.
