The Moon collects what may be the oldest rock on Earth

2019/01/31 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia
• Astrofisika

Apollo 14 astronauts have found, among the samples taken on the Moon in 1971, a rock originally terrestrial. It is over 4,011 million years old and seems to have been released from Earth and reached the Moon as a result of a shock.

The study was published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. According to him, it is a great discovery, since on Earth there is no rock of that time. The oldest are in Australia and are 4.4 billion years old, but they are minerals, the original rocks are dismantled.

What was collected on the Moon has been called Big Bertha (official name: 14321), almost 9 kg. weight, whose composition coincides with the conditions of the Earth at that time. For example, clasts that form below the earth's surface at a depth of 19 km are its main component. It also has zircons that show that the rock was born in terrestrial conditions and not on the Moon.

The researchers have stated that the samples they will collect in the next missions will serve to resolve doubts.