Long-lasting farside volcanism in the Apollo basin: Chang'e-6 landing site

Abstract

A major lunar scientific question is the cause of the paucity of farside mare basalts. The South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA) is the largest (2400×2050 km) and most ancient lunar impact basin. The Apollo peak-ring basin, the largest impact feature within the SPA, is located on its northeast edge in a transitional zone of crustal thickness and compositions. The Chang'e-6 (CE-6) mission, the first sample-return mission to the lunar farside, is targeted to land in the southern Apollo basin, sampling farside mare basalts with critical insights into early lunar evolution. In preparation for the CE-6 sample return, we conducted a comprehensive study of Apollo basin volcanism. We found that volcanic activity began in the Nectarian Period (∼4.05 Ga) (cryptomaria) and continued into the Eratosthenian Period (∼1.79 Ga). At least two Imbrian-aged episodes of eruptions occurred in the southern part of the Apollo basin where CE-6 is targeted to land. At ∼3.35 Ga, low-Ti (∼3.2 wt %) volcanism was active, and its products covered the entire low topographic region of the southern Apollo basin, between the inner and outer rings. Closely following its eruption at ∼3.07 Ga, high-Ti basalts (∼6.2 wt %) erupted close to the Chaffee S crater and flowed east with decreasing thickness until encountering proto-wrinkle ridges. In addition, volcanic activity in the region is significantly correlated with low crustal thickness, primarily thinned by the SPA and Apollo impact events. For regions of intermediate-thick crust (Oppenheimer crater), dikes stalled under the crater floor, spreading to form sills and a floor-fractured crater. For thin crust regions (Apollo basin interior), dikes erupted directly, forming extensive lava flows. In areas of thick highland crust, we see no evidence of extrusive activity or floor-fractured craters, suggesting that dikes there do not reach the surface and are intrusive. CE-6 samples returned from the unique geological setting will provide significant petrogenetic information to address further the paucity of farside mare basalts and the lunar nearside-farside dichotomy. To solve those scientific questions, the high-Ti mare region in south Apollo basin is recommended as the priority landing site.