Yazhou Yang earned his bachelor’s degree in Geology and his doctoral degree in Planetary Geology and Comparative Planetology from China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). From 2016 to 2018, he spent two years as a visiting scholar at RELAB, Brown University. From 2019 to 2021, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NSSC-CAS), focusing on space weathering studies on the Moon and other airless bodies. He is currently an Associate Professor at NSSC-CAS.
Dr. Yang’s research focuses on using spectroscopic methods to characterize and understand the interactions between the space environment and surface materials on the Moon. He has pioneered innovative integration of simulation experiments, theoretic modeling, and remote sensing data to investigate surface processes of airless bodies. His work has led to more than 30 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals, including Nature Astronomy, Geophysical Research Letters, and Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
The Moon is a pivotal window for understanding the evolution of terrestrial bodies, with its surface shaped by endogenic volcanism (which diminished as the Moon cooled), exogenous impacts (which became less intense over time), and ongoing space weathering (driven by direct environmental interactions). Lunar regolith, composed of materials from the surface crust, possible deep-seated mantle/crust components (transported to the surface via volcanic eruptions and impact excavation), and exogenous impactors, serves as a key record for deciphering the Moon's internal structure, impact history, and the origins of lunar surface water. However, space weathering alters the regolith’s microstructure and optical properties, obscuring original compositions while recording the evolution of the space environment. Visible-near infrared spectroscopy, a core detection technique, depends heavily on understanding the spectral responses induced by space weathering.
Through systematic studies combining simulation experiments, theoretical modeling, and spectral data analysis, we investigated the effects of space weathering on the lunar surface. The results showed that mid-infrared spectral features are better preserved than visible and near-infrared characteristics under weathering conditions similar to those on the Moon and asteroids, providing valuable references for missions like Chang’e-7 and Tianwen-2. Notably, high-energy electron irradiation experiments and remote sensing analysis reveal that the Moon’s passage through Earth’s magnetotail enhances space weathering on its nearside, altering spectral characteristics through the formation of color centers, rather than nanophase iron (npFe0), as previously believed. These findings are important for understanding space-environment interactions with the lunar surface and for improving material detection techniques, offering key insights into the weathering processes of airless bodies across the solar system.