Overview
- High-resolution 3D simulations point to a 260-kilometer differentiated impactor striking the Moon from north to south at about 30 degrees and roughly 13 kilometers per second.
- The best-fit scenario reproduces the South Pole–Aitken basin’s tapered shape and links it to the impactor’s dense core, which carved an elongated, lopsided crater.
- The modeled ejecta falls in a butterfly-like pattern with mantle material about 550 kilometers downrange and 650 kilometers cross-range, with little to none deposited uprange.
- The predicted downrange deposits place NASA’s planned Artemis south pole landing zone within reach of excavated lunar mantle, though only samples can verify that call.
- The preferred impact speed hints the object came from the early solar system’s Mars zone, and confirming mantle-rich ejecta would help pin down SPA’s age and the Moon’s deep composition.