Isotopic evidence of sulfur photochemistry during lunar regolith formation

Abstract

Lunar gardening results in volatile mobilisation and stable isotopic fractionations that are mass dependent. An unambiguous role for mass independent fractionation (MIF), such as that produced by photochemistry, has not been demonstrated on the Moon. We observe MIF for sulfur isotopes in lunar soil 75081, 690 while MIF is not observed in soil 74241, 204. The MIF is likely generated after sulfur is volatilised during soil maturation processes. The isotopic discrepancy between 75081, 690 and 74241, 204 may reflect differences in photochemistry, such as illumination or in generation of photochemically active volatile sulfur species, for instance, due to varying H contents from solar wind implantation.