Lunar and Martian Meteorite Delivery Services

Abstract

Launch mechanisms for lunar and martian meteorites have been investigated, by integrating physical modeling constraints, geochemical cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) constraints, and petrologic constraints. The potential source region for lunar meteorites is remarkably small compared to the final crater volume. CRE constraints indicate that most launches start at depths of ≤3.2 m, and cratering theory implies derivation of suitably accelerated objects from a subvolume with diameter only about 0.3× the final crater diameter. The shallow depth provenance is probably related to shock-wave interference, enhanced by the lunar regolith's extremely low compressional wave velocity. CRE constraints alone imply that four to five separate launch events are represented among the eight well-studied lunar meteorites. Most of the lunar meteorites are regolith breccias, which tend to show only limited compositional diversity within any kilometer-scale region of the Moon. Several others are polymict breccias, which also show relatively subdued compositional diversity, compared to igneous rocks. The observed diversity among these samples in terms of abundances of mare basalt and KREEP, and in Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratio, implies that among eight well-studied lunar meteorites only two potential source crater pairings are plausible: between Asuka-881757+Y-793169 (most probable) and between Y-793274+EET875721. Altogether, these eight lunar meteorites apparently represent at least six separate source craters, including three in the past 10 5 years and five in the past 10 6 years. CRE constraints imply that SNC meteorites are launched from systematically greater depths than lunar meteorites. SNCs are also systematically bigger, and all nine well-studied SNCs are uncommonly young (by martian standards) mafic igneous rocks. Comparison between Viking and Apollo results reveals that rocks the size of common meteorites are remarkably scarce in the martian regolith, probably due to pervasive weathering. A plausible explanation for these trends is that most old, small, and shallow rocks on Mars have been weakened by a two-stage process of brecciation followed by pervasive weathering, to the point where they seldom survive the stresses of spallation off the planet. The scarcity of source-crater pairing among the lunar meteorites implies that these objects can be launched from craters much smaller than previously estimated and tends to support the suggestion of Rabinowitz (1993, Astrophys. J. 407, 412-427) that present-day cratering rates for the Earth-Moon region may be higher than previously estimated.