Chang'e-6 Lunar Soil Samples

Deeper solar wind penetration

Krypton and xenon isotopic compositions and release patterns indicate deeper solar wind penetration than nearside samples, useful for tracing the magnetosphere's shielding history.

Xuhang, Zhang · Su, Fei · Li, Youjuan · Liu, Ziheng · Li, Jiannan · Zhang, Yingnan · Qin, Liping · Liu, Ranran · Feng, Man · Xu, Bing · WenZhe, Li · Wei, Yong · He, Huaiyu

Nature Geoscience 2026

Specifications

Solar wind speed

{'zh': '200', 'en': '200'} km s⁻¹

Advantages

Deeper solar wind penetration

Krypton and xenon release peaks at higher temperatures for farside soils indicate trapping at greater depths, reducing alteration by surface processes.

Traces magnetospheric shielding

Nearside samples record solar wind decelerated to ~200 km s⁻¹ after passing through Earth's magnetosphere, whereas farside soils retain pristine velocity; their comparison constrains magnetospheric evolution.

Applications

• Lunar Soil Volatile Analysis：Resolve solar wind implantation depths and isotope fractionation without magnetospheric alteration.
• Space Environment Monitoring：Use farside soils to calibrate pristine solar wind fluxes for monitoring magnetospheric shielding.
• Noble Gas Mass Spectrometry：Deconvolve solar wind, meteoritic, and cometary components via Kr-Xe release profiles and isotope ratios.