Elements Magazine Past Issues

Our current understanding of the Moon’s history, interior structure, and chemical composition is based in large part on geochemical data acquired from samples from the U.S. Apollo and Soviet Luna missions; data acquired by Apollo geophysical instruments; orbital geochemical and spectral data acquired by robotic missions from the U.S., Japan, and China; analysis of lunar meteorites derived from previously unsampled regions of the Moon; and Earth-based radar observations and infrared spectral reflectance data. All of these efforts have contributed to a preliminary understanding of the origin of the Moon and the processes that have affected its surface and interior. Isotopic analyses of impact-generated samples have placed constraints on the time-dependent meteorite flux that not only affected the Moon but also the Earth and other objects in the inner solar system. In this issue of Elements, leading scientists discuss the major concepts that underpin our current understanding of the Moon, as well as scientific plans for international scientific exploration by robotic and human missions.