Rummaging through Earth's Attic for Remains of Ancient Life

Armstrong, John C.; Wells, Llyd E.; González, Guillermo

doi:10.1006/icar.2002.6957

Cited by 117 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Armstrong et al (2002) estimated that the maximum impact velocity of terrestrial meteorites landing on the Moon 3.9 Gyr ago would have been about 5 km/s (assuming that terrestrial debris was launched into near-Earth heliocentric orbits with which the Moon subsequently interacted). The minimum impact velocity would have been about 2.3 km/s (slightly lower than the Moon's escape velocity of 2.4 km/s owing to gravitational influence of Earth).…”

Section: Surviving the Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, owing to its active geological and erosional history, Earth itself has preserved hardly any record of these early times (see Rollinson, 2007, for a recent review). However, Armstrong et al (2002) suggested that the Moon will have collected materials, in the form of meteorites, blasted off Earth and other terrestrial planets throughout the history of the Solar System and that such samples may preserve a unique suite of evidence of the early surface environments of these planets. The recovery of such material would provide an important window into early planetary environments, including possible information on the nature and prevalence of early life, which is unlikely to be obtained in any other way.…”

Section: Introduction Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For these reasons, identifying ancient terrestrial materials on the Moon constitutes a strong astrobiological argument for a vigorous robotic and human lunar exploration program (Crawford, 2006). Armstrong et al (2002) estimated that between 10 7 and several times 10 8 kg/km 2 of terrestrial materials may have landed on the Moon during the Late Heavy Bombardment (corresponding to an equivalent layer several mm to several cm thick; or between roughly 0.05% and 0.5% by mass for a 10 m thick regolith). The corresponding quantities for Mars and Venus are lower by approximately 2 and 3 orders of magnitude, respectively.…”

Section: Introduction Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the Survivability and Detectability of Terrestrial Meteorites on the Moon

et al. 2008

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Section: Surviving the Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the Survivability and Detectability of Terrestrial Meteorites on the Moon

et al. 2008

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“…For example, giant impacts on Earth can launch ejecta that would impact the Moon (see Armstrong et al, 2002).…”

Section: Observations and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival of Organic Materials in Hypervelocity Impacts of Ice on Sand, Ice, and Water in the Laboratory

et al. 2014

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The survival of organic molecules in shock impact events has been investigated in the laboratory. A frozen mixture of anthracene and stearic acid, solvated in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), was fired in a two-stage light gas gun at speeds of *2 and *4 km s -1 at targets that included water ice, water, and sand. This involved shock pressures in the range of 2-12 GPa. It was found that the projectile materials were present in elevated quantities in the targets after impact and in some cases in the crater ejecta as well. For DMSO impacting water at 1.9 km s -1 and 45°incidence, we quantify the surviving fraction after impact as 0.44 -0.05. This demonstrates successful transfer of organic compounds from projectile to target in high-speed impacts. The range of impact speeds used covers that involved in impacts of terrestrial meteorites on the Moon, as well as impacts in the outer Solar System on icy bodies such as Pluto. The results provide laboratory evidence that suggests that exogenous delivery of complex organic molecules from icy impactors is a viable source of such material on target bodies.

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“…Moreover, it has recently been suggested [12] that the Moon may have collected meteorites blasted off other terrestrial planets (including the early-Earth and the pregreenhouse Venus). If such material has been preserved on the Moon, it is more likely to be preserved in layers of palaeoregolith than exposed on the present surface.…”

Section: Identification and Sampling Of Palaeoregolithsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The scientific case for renewed human activities on the Moon

Crawford

2004

Space Policy

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It is over thirty years since the last human being stood on the lunar surface, and I will argue that this long hiatus in human exploration has been to the detriment of lunar and planetary science. The primary scientific importance of the Moon lies in the record it preserves of the early evolution of a terrestrial planet, and of the near-Earth cosmic environment in the first billion years or so of Solar System history. This record may not be preserved anywhere else, and I will argue that gaining proper access to it will require a human presence. Moreover, while this will primarily be a task for the geosciences, I will argue that the astronomical and biological sciences would also benefit from a renewed human presence on the Moon, and especially from the establishment of a permanently occupied scientific outpost.

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Rummaging through Earth's Attic for Remains of Ancient Life

Cited by 117 publications

References 51 publications

On the Survivability and Detectability of Terrestrial Meteorites on the Moon

On the Survivability and Detectability of Terrestrial Meteorites on the Moon

Survival of Organic Materials in Hypervelocity Impacts of Ice on Sand, Ice, and Water in the Laboratory

The scientific case for renewed human activities on the Moon

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