Abstract :
The Moon provides a unique natural laboratory for understanding how rocky planetary bodies form and evolve. Unlike distant planets and exoplanets, it can be studied both through remote observations and through direct laboratory analysis of returned samples and meteorites.
In this talk, I will discuss how chemical and isotopic measurements of lunar rocks can reveal the Moon’s history. I will focus on how lunar meteorites sample regions beyond the Apollo landing sites and how impacts can alter the original chemical record through melting, mixing, metal redistribution, and volatile transport. Together, these examples demonstrate how small pieces of lunar rock can be used to reconstruct large-scale processes such as mantle melting, crustal evolution, and impact modification on the Moon.
Short Bio
Yash Srivastava is a planetary geochemist and postdoctoral scholar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. His research focuses on the chemical and isotopic evolution of the Moon and other planetary materials, using lunar samples and meteorites to investigate mantle melting, crust formation, impact processes, and volatile and metal redistribution. His work combines laboratory geochemistry with planetary observations to better understand the evolution of rocky planetary bodies.
