Fragment of the Moon found in Africa holds a mark of a giant impact from 3.5 billion years ago and may reveal what the solar system was like when life was beginning to emerge on Earth.

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 18/06/2026 at 14:10

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Small lunar meteorite found in northwest Africa preserves marks of successive impacts, including a collision that occurred about 3.5 billion years ago, a period when primitive life was emerging on Earth and large events still affected different bodies of the solar system.

A fragment of the Moon found in northwest Africa may record a gigantic impact that occurred about 3.5 billion years ago, when primitive life was beginning to emerge on Earth and the inner solar system was still experiencing devastating collisions.

Moon fragment preserves marks of three impacts

The Northwest Africa 12593 lunar meteorite preserves signs of three distinct episodes. The oldest would have been strong enough to melt part of the lunar surface, forming a layer of molten rock that, for a short time, behaved like lava.

The discovery is rare because Earth has almost erased ancient records. Erosion, burial, and plate tectonics have recycled much of Earth’s crust. The Moon, without oceans, climate, and tectonic plates, has preserved geological scars.

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Extreme heat left mineral signature

Radiometric dating indicated that the oldest impact on the Moon fragment occurred about 3.5 billion years ago. The method tracks radioactive elements to estimate the preserved age.

The main clue came from traces associated with cubic zirconia, a mineral that forms only at high temperatures. In NWA 12593, researchers identified marks left after this mineral decomposed and recrystallized, revealing intense and brief heating.

This record indicates that the collision released enough energy to alter the lunar material. Later, a second impact broke the ancient layer of molten material and helped form a breccia, rock composed of fragments bonded by the impact.

The third event occurred afterwards. This collision launched the piece of rock out of the Moon, putting the meteorite on a trajectory that crossed Earth and allowed its discovery in the African desert.

Impacts help understand young Earth

The most intriguing aspect of NWA 12593 is the coincidence with records of major impacts on Earth and Vesta. For scientists, finding compatible signs on three worlds, especially from such an ancient time, is unusual.

During that period, the planets were already formed, but there was still enough debris to cause frequent collisions. These impacts could reshape coastlines, stir local seas, alter the atmosphere, and affect primitive ecosystems.

They could also create environments where chemical processes thrived. Therefore, the date preserved in the meteorite offers another reference point to investigate how catastrophic events influenced the setting in which life was establishing itself.

Lunar meteorites complement samples brought by the Apollo, Luna, and Chang’e missions, which came from limited regions. Another meteorite, NWA 16286, dated at 2.35 billion years, reinforces that lunar rocks can fill gaps about impacts, volcanism, and evolution.

What grabs your attention most in this discovery: the connection between impacts on the Moon, Earth, and Vesta, or the fact that a small rock found in the desert carries clues from such an ancient time? Share your opinion and say which point deserves more explanation.

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Fragment of the Moon found in Africa holds a mark of a giant impact from 3.5 billion years ago and may reveal what the solar system was like when life was beginning to emerge on Earth.

Small lunar meteorite found in northwest Africa preserves marks of successive impacts, including a collision that occurred about 3.5 billion years ago, a period when primitive life was emerging on Earth and large events still affected different bodies of the solar system.

Moon fragment preserves marks of three impacts

Extreme heat left mineral signature

Impacts help understand young Earth

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Fragment of the Moon found in Africa holds a mark of a giant impact from 3.5 billion years ago and may reveal what the solar system was like when life was beginning to emerge on Earth.

Small lunar meteorite found in northwest Africa preserves marks of successive impacts, including a collision that occurred about 3.5 billion years ago, a period when primitive life was emerging on Earth and large events still affected different bodies of the solar system.

Moon fragment preserves marks of three impacts

Extreme heat left mineral signature

Impacts help understand young Earth

Mother and daughter build a 70 m² house with more than 8,000 discarded glass bottles and impress with their creativity; known as the Casa de Sal, the property is located on Itamaracá Island, in Pernambuco.

Libya built over 4,000 kilometers of underground pipelines to bring water from the Sahara to coastal cities in a project that the government itself called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Desert sand, previously discarded for being too smooth for concrete, becomes an ecological brick in the United Arab Emirates, dispensing with Portland cement, curing at room temperature, and attempting to transform dunes useless for construction into raw material for a new arid engineering.

He transformed an abandoned plastic water tank into an underground house in the “hobbit hole” style, using only repurposed pallet wood, without heavy machinery or expensive labor.

China transforms desert-devastated area into the world’s largest artificial forest, planting trees for 60 years, blocking sand that reached Beijing, and creating a “green lung” of 92,000 hectares in a region once considered lost.

Toyota launches “family hybrid van” with 7 or 8 seats, 1.8 hybrid engine, fuel consumption of up to 23.8 km/l, and a price equivalent to about R$ 104,000 without taxes, below the Tiggo 8 Pro Plug-in Hybrid sold in Brazil: meet the Noah Hybrid 2026 in Japan.

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