Revolutionary lunar samples from the far side of the Moon’s that active volcanoes were erupting 2.8 billion years ago, offering groundbreaking new insights into the moon’s volcanic history
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China Unveils Secrets of First Moon Sample from Far Side – A Volcanic Discovery That Surprises Scientists 2024
New lunar discoveries are rewriting the history of the Unveils Secrets of First Moon far side. For the first time, lava samples returned from this mysterious region have revealed that active volcanoes were erupting there 2.8 billion years ago, offering a new perspective on the moon’s volcanic past.
The moon’s unique tidally locked orbit ensures that the same side always faces Earth, which has left the far side largely unexplored for centuries. This distant region has remained a mystery to scientists until recent advancements in lunar exploration. Only two landers, both from China, have successfully reached the far side, marking a significant leap in our understanding of the geology. These missions have provided unprecedented samples and data, unlocking secrets that were previously hidden. This discovery not only challenges previous notions of lunar volcanism but also opens the door to further exploration and understanding of the complex history and geological activity
In a groundbreaking study published on November 15 in the journal Science, researchers presented their findings from the first-ever analysis of rock samples collected by the Chang’e 6 lander. The 2024 mission made history by bringing back over 4 pounds (1.9 kilograms) of rock from the South Pole-Aitken basin, an area that had never been sampled before. These samples provide invaluable insight into the geological activity and offer a glimpse into the ancient volcanic processes that once shaped its surface.
Zexian Cui from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry and his team recently made an exciting discovery while analyzing rock samples from the moon’s far side. By studying the isotopes and chemical makeup of these samples, they were able to determine their age and origin, unlocking new details about the moon’s volcanic activity.
Isotopes are versions of an element with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. t As time passes, the ratio of different isotopes changes due to radioactive decay, which makes them useful for dating rocks. Through this method, the team found that the rock samples, which are hardened lava known as basalt, are about 2.8 billion years old. This means that, just like the near side of the , the far side also experienced volcanic activity billions of years ago. While previous research showed that volcanism on the near side lasted until at least 2 billion years ago, this new data suggests that the far side’s volcanic activity occurred at the same time, adding a new layer to our understanding of the ’s geological history.
The researchers also discovered something fascinating about the chemical makeup of the lava that formed these basalts. Unlike the lava found on the near side, which is rich in elements like potassium and rare Earth elements, the lava from the far side came from a part of the moon’s mantle that was unusually low in these elements. This strange Unveils Secrets of First Moon imbalance might be the result of the massive impact that created the South Pole-Aitken basin — one of the moon’s largest and oldest impact craters. The impact may have caused a redistribution of elements and even melted the mantle beneath it, depleting that region of the elements typically found in the near side’s lava.
These findings not only give us a glimpse into the moon’s volcanic past but also raise new questions about its geological processes. It shows how much we still have to learn, especially from the unexplored far side of the moon