Moon Grain Clues Point to Extended Early Solar System Bombardment
Geologists analyzing 21 baddeleyite grains in lunar breccia NWA 12593 found evidence of a separate, ultra-high-temperature impact around 3.486 billion years ago, implying a prolonged bombardment of the inner Solar System after the Late Heavy Bombardment and aligning with Earth and Vesta records; the findings offer clues about how such catastrophic events may have influenced the environment when life was emerging on Earth.