The study of Northwest Africa 2995, believed to have originated from the SPA basin, provides critical insights into the early Solar System.

Due to Earth's geological processes, evidence of ancient impacts on our planet is scarce, making lunar studies essential for understanding both lunar and terrestrial histories.

Recent research has confirmed that the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, the largest and oldest known impact site on the Moon, dates back approximately 4.32 to 4.33 billion years, making it 120 million years older than previously estimated.

This research involved collaboration with institutions including the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Museum of Natural History.

Future sample return missions, such as the Chang’e-6 mission, are necessary to confirm the proposed age of the SPA basin and gather more data on its formation.

This new dating challenges the long-held belief that the Moon's most intense period of bombardment occurred between 4.2 and 3.8 billion years ago.

The impact that created the SPA basin is believed to have been catastrophic, potentially caused by an impactor around 200 kilometers in diameter, significantly larger than the Chicxulub impactor responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Researchers estimated the age of the meteorite materials by analyzing uranium and lead content, which revealed they formed around the same time as the SPA basin.

The age determination was conducted by a research team at the University of Manchester, which analyzed the lunar meteorite Northwest Africa 2995, discovered in Algeria in 2005.

Understanding the timing of the SPA basin's formation is crucial for piecing together the history of impact events in the inner Solar System, with implications extending to Earth's early history.

The SPA basin is recognized as the Moon's oldest impact basin, likely forming during a period of intense bombardment in the inner Solar System between 4.2 and 4.3 billion years ago.

Dr. Romain Tartese highlighted the broader implications of the findings for understanding Earth's early history, given the similarities in impact experiences between Earth and the Moon.