NEW MINERAL IN MOON METEORITE DISCOVERED

A team of researchers from Europe found a high-pressure mineral in the Oued Awlitis 001 lunar meteorite. The mineral was labeled Downwilhelmsite. The International Mineralogical Association (IMA) has accepted the naturally formed phase as the new mineral in moon mineral “donwilhelmsite” , according to the studies by the US lunar geologist Don E. Wilhelms. The latest mineral is the first high-pressure mineral found in meteorites with an application for subducted terrestrial sediment, according to a statement published by the German Geosciences Research Center GFZ in Potsdam. This meteorite consists of calcium, aluminium, silicon and oxygen atoms.

Donwilhelmsite was found in the shock melt areas of the Oued Awlitis 001 lunar meteorite. The statement said, which was contained in the Western Sahara in 2014. It is similar in structure to the rocks that make up the continents of the Earth. The writers of the study point out that the erosion of sediments is continuously being dragged deeper into Earth mantle, where gravity and temperature work to transform them into denser mineral phases. The new mineral in moon Downwilhelmsite was formed between 460 and 700 km.

Speaking of the discovery, research author Richard Wirth said, “We used transmission electron microscopy at the GFZ to examine the microstructural dimensions of the samples.”