The moon holds a discovery that could change humanity | future exploration

An exciting new discovery on the moon: the data reported by the Chinese spacecraft shocked scientists around the world

The moon is still a mystery to our scientists. Despite being studied for decades, despite the moon landings and proximity to our planet, there are still many things we don’t know about our satellite and the potential secrets it can still hide.

A recent discovery confirms suspicions and shows that we still don’t know much about celestial bodies: the dark side of the moon is getting bigger and bigger.

Discovery from China

Scientists continue to analyze rock and dirt samples returned by the Chinese lunar rover Chang’e 5. The latest findings point to new types of geological materials from regions on the moon that have yet to be discovered and explored.

Seven different types of rock have been identified among the 1,731 kilograms of 2-billion-year-old regolith – loose, brittle dirt and rubble on the moon’s surface. One of the rocks is a type of lunar basalt Brand Newwas created at a time when the moon was still volcanically active.

This regolith is the youngest yet reported from the Moon and offers experts a glimpse into a different period than other samples, helping them trace a turbulent period in the history of our neighbours.

All seven rock types included in the study are considered “exotic” and are believed to have arrived at their current landing site from elsewhere.

“In such a young geological unit, it was possible to transport a wide range of crustal components from various sources to the Chang’e-5 landing site by the surface processes going on on the moon.”The researchers write in the published article.

About 3000 particles Smaller than 2 mm (0.08 in) were sifted by the researchers, looking for evidence of impact craters and past volcanic activity. As on Earth, these types of igneous rocks can tell a geological story.

According to the researchers, three of the faults were notable in width Unusual petroleum and structural properties. The high-titanium vitreous — with larger crystals embedded in a glassy rock — contains minerals never before seen on the moon and likely represents a new type of lunar rock.

The dark side of the moon

According to the study’s authors, these rocky particles could be linked to locations on the moon as far away as 400 km from the place of collectionon the surface through a series of asteroid collisions over thousands of years.

These strange igneous shells will record the rock diversity and regolith formation processes in the young sea regions [circa 2 miliardi di anni fa] Moon “Type researchers.

When you put all of these together, the conclusion is that these fragments come from parts of the lunar surface which we do not know yetgeologically. There may also be volcanic eruptions that we are not yet aware of.

However, only about 0.2% of the material in the samples was classified as alien, instead of the expected 10-20%. This suggests that scientists may need to rethink how ejecta travels on the lunar surface, at least in this newer region.

Chang’e 5 collected its samples in the Mons Rümker area, in the northern Oceanus Procellarum of the Moon, and other samples – in addition to current missions from previous missions – will be useful for a better understanding of how the lunar surface has evolved and where bases and landing sites should be located in the future.

The research has been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.