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Evolving Theories on the Origin of the Moon pp 111–140Cite as

Post-Apollo Synthesis and Debate

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Abstract

For eight years following the last of the Apollo lunar explorations, the Lunar Science Institute (later renamed the Lunar and Planetary Institute) held conferences and workshops in which lunar scientists debated the implications of the recently acquired lunar data. New constraints on theories for the origin of the Moon appeared; perhaps the most important among them had to do with the analysis of oxygen isotope data in samples from the Moon, the Earth, and meteorites. A research group from the University of Chicago found that the Moon and the earth shared identical oxygen isotope ratios, whereas material from other parts of the solar system had different ratios. Existing theories for the origin of the Moon continued to be championed, and it was during this time that the idea of collisional fission to create the Earth-Moon system reemerged. Still, by 1980, there were five different theories for the origin of the Moon that seemed to be viable.

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  1. USRA, Columbia, MD, USA

    Warren D. Cummings

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Cummings, W. (2019). Post-Apollo Synthesis and Debate. In: Evolving Theories on the Origin of the Moon. Historical & Cultural Astronomy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29119-8_5

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