KAGUYA observation of global emissions of indigenous carbon ions from the Moon

Shoichiro Yokota; Kentaro Terada; Yoshifumi Saito; Daiba Kato; Kazushi Asamura; Masaki N Nishino; Hisayoshi Shimizu; Futoshi Takahashi; Hidetoshi Shibuya; Masaki Matsushima; Hideo Tsunakawa

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aba1050

KAGUYA observation of global emissions of indigenous carbon ions from the Moon

Sci Adv. 2020 May 6;6(19):eaba1050. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba1050. eCollection 2020 May.

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Japan.
² Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Japan.
³ Hitachi Ltd., Research and Development Group, Higashi-Koigakubo, Kokubunji-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁶ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kurokami, Kumamoto, Japan.
⁷ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Carbon is a volatile element that has a considerable influence on the formation and evolution of planetary bodies, although it was previously believed to be depleted in the Moon. We present observations by the lunar orbiter KAGUYA of carbon ions emitted from the Moon. These emissions were distributed over almost the total lunar surface, but amounts were differed with respect to lunar geographical areas. The estimated emission fluxes to space were ~5.0 × 10⁴ per square centimeter per second, which is greater than possible ongoing supplies from the solar wind and micrometeoroids. Our estimates demonstrate that indigenous carbon exists over the entire Moon, supporting the hypothesis of a carbon-containing Moon, where the carbon was embedded at its formation and/or was transported billions of years ago.

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