17/mar/21 – Moon formation and devolatilisation: a debated question (Dr. Sebastien Charnoz, Universidade de Paris/IPGP)

The Moon samples are similar to the Earth mantle in many ways. On intriguing aspect is the strong depletion in volatile elemnts (Na, K , Zn, etc.) compared to bulk silicated Earth. This question has been the matter of a vivid debates in the last ten years, where many mechanisms have been proposed, and all imply the hot environment in which the Moon formed. I will review several moon formation scenario and present different hypothesis to devolatalize the Moon. We will see that many uncertainties remain on the Moon context of moon formation, that is still, mostly, a mystery. Combination of numerical modélisations and laboratory experiments could help to better understand the origin of the Moon.