It has been thought that the lunar highland crust was formed by the crystallization and floatation of plagioclase from a global magma ocean, although the actual generation mechanisms are still debated. The composition of the lunar highland crust is therefore important for understanding the formation of such a magma ocean and the subsequent evolution of the Moon. The Multiband Imager on the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE) has a high spatial resolution of optimized spectral coverage, which should allow a clear view of the composition of the lunar crust. Here we report the global distribution of rocks of high plagioclase abundance (approaching 100 vol.%), using an unambiguous plagioclase absorption band recorded by the SELENE Multiband Imager. If the upper crust indeed consists of nearly 100 vol.% plagioclase, this is significantly higher than previous estimates of 82-92 vol.%(refs 2, 6, 7), providing a valuable constraint on models of lunar magma ocean evolution.

We determined model ages of mare deposits on the lunar farside based on the crater frequency distributions in 10-m-resolution images obtained by the Terrain Camera on SELENE (KAGUYA). Most mare volcanism that formed mare deposits on the lunar farside ceased at ~3.0 Ga, suggesting that mare volcanism on the Moon significantly reduced globally during this period. However, several mare deposits at various locations on the lunar farside also show a much younger age, clustering at ~2.5 Ga. These young ages indicate that mare volcanism on the lunar farside lasted longer than previously considered and may have occurred episodically.

High-resolution images of the surface of asteroid Itokawa from the Hayabusa mission reveal it to be covered with unconsolidated millimeter-sized and larger gravels. Locations and morphologic characteristics of this gravel indicate that Itokawa has experienced considerable vibrations, which have triggered global-scale granular processes in its dry, vacuum, microgravity environment. These processes likely include granular convection, landslide-like granular migrations, and particle sorting, resulting in the segregation of the fine gravels into areas of potential lows. Granular processes become major resurfacing processes because of Itokawa's small size, implying that they can occur on other small asteroids should they have regolith.

The locations of the pole and rotation axis of asteroid 25143 Itokawa were derived from Asteroid Multiband Imaging Camera data on the Hayabusa spacecraft. The retrograde pole orientation had a right ascension of 90.53 degrees and a declination of -66.30 degrees (52000 equinox) or equivalently 128.5 degrees and -89.66 degrees in ecliptic coordinates with a 3.9 degrees margin of error. The surface area is 0.393 square kilometers, the volume is 0.018378 cubic kilometers with a 5% margin of error, and the three axis lengths are 535 meters by 294 meters by 209 meters. The global Itokawa revealed a boomerang-shaped appearance composed of two distinct parts with partly faceted regions and a constricted ring structure.

The ranging instrument aboard the Hayabusa spacecraft measured the surface topography of asteroid 25143 Itokawa and its mass. A typical rough area is similar in roughness to debris located on the interior wall of a large crater on asteroid 433 Eros, which suggests a surface structure on Itokawa similar to crater ejecta on Eros. The mass of Itokawa was estimated as (3.58 +/- 0.18) x 10(10) kilograms, implying a bulk density of (1.95 +/- 0.14) grams per cubic centimeter for a volume of (1.84 +/- 0.09) x 10(7) cubic meters and a bulk porosity of approximately 40%, which is similar to that of angular sands, when assuming an LL (low iron chondritic) meteorite composition. Combined with surface observations, these data indicate that Itokawa is the first subkilometer-sized small asteroid showing a rubble-pile body rather than a solid monolithic asteroid.

Rendezvous of the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa with the near-Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa took place during the interval September through November 2005. The onboard camera imaged the solid surface of this tiny asteroid (535 meters by 294 meters by 209 meters) with a spatial resolution of 70 centimeters per pixel, revealing diverse surface morphologies. Unlike previously explored asteroids, the surface of Itokawa reveals both rough and smooth terrains. Craters generally show unclear morphologies. Numerous boulders on Itokawa's surface suggest a rubble-pile structure.

During the interval from September through early December 2005, the Hayabusa spacecraft was in close proximity to near-Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa, and a variety of data were taken on its shape, mass, and surface topography as well as its mineralogic and elemental abundances. The asteroid's orthogonal axes are 535, 294, and 209 meters, the mass is 3.51 x 10(10) kilograms, and the estimated bulk density is 1.9 +/- 0.13 grams per cubic centimeter. The correspondence between the smooth areas on the surface (Muses Sea and Sagamihara) and the gravitationally low regions suggests mass movement and an effective resurfacing process by impact jolting. Itokawa is considered to be a rubble-pile body because of its low bulk density, high porosity, boulder-rich appearance, and shape. The existence of very large boulders and pillars suggests an early collisional breakup of a preexisting parent asteroid followed by a re-agglomeration into a rubble-pile object.

The alteration of monoamines and their metabolites in the brain during and after hemorrhagic shock in the conscious state was measured in rats. Blood pressure was maintained at 40-70 mmHg (5.3-9.3 kPa) for 60 min by withdrawing 8 ml of blood intermittently. The content of monoamines, as well as their metabolites, increased in various brain regions during hemorrhage, compared with the content in the control rats. Sixty min after the end of the bleeding period, almost no significant change in the contents of brain monoamines nor of their metabolites was observed. These results may indicate not only an increased release of monoamines from nerve terminals, but also an increased synthesis of them during hemorrhagic shock. Soon after the bleeding was stopped, the increased monoamine turnover rate returned to almost normal levels.