Chinese scientists have obtained soil samples for the first time, which were delivered by a spacecraft from the far side of the Moon.
This was reported by URA-Inform with reference to Nature.
It is noted that the corresponding results are the first scientific analyses of samples collected by the Chinese Chang’e-6 mission. It is known that in June the capsule with samples was returned to Earth.
It contained almost two kilograms of lunar soil. A study of the lunar soil samples showed that the fine dust, the size of which varies from one to several hundred micrometers, consists of a mixture of particles from different geological eras.
Co-author of the study and petrologist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou Yi-Gang Xu explains that constant impacts of micrometeorites and high-energy solar particles destroy rocks, turning them into dust that is carried across the surface without an atmosphere.
So, having measured the content of isotopes, Chinese scientists found that a certain amount of dust particles comes from lava that was ejected onto the surface of the Place about 2.83 billion years ago. Scientists also found lava grains dating back 4.2 billion years.
“These and other studies show that the Moon had active volcanism for billions of years before becoming the nearly quiescent environment we see today,” the scientists noted.
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