Moon rock ties 3.5-billion-year bombardment across Moon, Earth, and Vesta to life’s dawn
TL;DR Summary
A lunar meteorite found in NW Africa (NWA 12593) records three Moon impacts around 3.486 billion years ago, including a high-temperature melt event. Its age matches the oldest Earth spherule beds and the 4 Vesta eucrite record, suggesting a shared inner-Solar-System bombardment from a large asteroid breakup. This debris wave coincides with the period when life was first emerging on Earth, though a direct causal link remains debated.
- A lunar meteorite found in northwest Africa has been shown to record evidence of an asteroid impact on the Moon 3.5 billion years ago, matching independently dated impacts on Earth and on the asteroid 4 Vesta from the same period, at the moment life on Ea Space Daily
- Moon Impact 3.5 Billion Years Ago Hints at Hidden Era of Solar System Yahoo
- Written in Rock Universe Today
- Scientists Link 3.5 Billion-Year-Old Asteroid Strike To Dawn Of Life On Earth HotHardware
- A Piece of the Moon Found in Africa Records a Giant Lunar Impact From the Dawn of Life on Earth ZME Science
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