CEEES - Understanding the Origin and Evolution of the Moon
The students involved with this project will be part of a larger, multi-institutional team examining lunar sample returned by the Apollo missions. These samples contain a component that is hypothesized to have originated from the initial differentiation of the Moon - "KREEP". The Moon was initially molten and this KREEP component represents the last ~0.5% of the Lunar Magma Ocean that has subsequently been incorporated into various lunar rock suites. The attached document gives more information. Undergraduates will work with graduate students and post-docs on their projects, will be included in the monthly team meetings, and there is potential for presenting their work at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held each year during March in Houston, TX.
With the United States stating that human permanence on the Moon is the goal, emphasis on the Moon and the resources that could both enable human permanence there and benefit society on Earth have come into focus. The KREEP component is enriched in rare earth metals - critical minerals essential to the national security of the United States. Understanding and testing the hypotheses for KREEP formation will allow the resource potential of KREEP for rare earth metals to be evaluated. Students will be challenged to think outside the box or even throw the box away as they undertake this research project.