Discovery of crystalline Fe 2 O 3 in returned lunar soils Article Swipe
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· 2025
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ady5169
· OA: W4416222405
Lunar materials were believed to have formed and been preserved in a reducing environment, with only Fe 2+ and Fe 0 present. Native oxidized minerals, such as hematite, have not been validated in previously returned lunar samples. In this work, we report the discovery of micrometer-scale crystalline Fe 2 O 3 in the forms of hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) and maghemite (γ-Fe 2 O 3 ) overgrowing troilite in the recently returned Chang’e-6 (CE6) lunar soils. It is possible that impact-induced oxygen release created localized micrometer-scale regions of elevated oxygen fugacity, facilitating the formation of Fe 2 O 3 at temperatures between ~700° and 1000°C. This finding provides credible evidence for the presence of Fe 2 O 3 on the lunar surface, challenging the traditional understanding of lunar surface redox states. In addition, the Fe 2 O 3 in the form of maghemite may be the mineralogical reason for the generation of the magnetic anomalies observed around the South Pole–Aitken basin.
