Lunar Secrets Are Discovered By The Chinese Mission On The Opposite Side Of The Moon

Editorials News | May-18-2019

Lunar Secrets Are Discovered By The Chinese Mission On The Opposite Side Of The Moon

The Chinese rover, Yutu-2, deployed in a huge crater, called Von Karman, at the opposite end of the Moon and confirmed ideas about its origin. The mission's findings will help solve long-standing mysteries about the formation and evolution of the moon. Patrick Pinet of the Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP) said the findings are "exciting."

He told the BBC: "They could have considerable implications for characterizing the composition of the upper mantle of the Moon.

"It is of the utmost importance to advance in the unpacking of the geology of the far side of the lunar, expanding our fundamental knowledge of the formation of the Moon and the origin of the asymmetry of the crust that exists between its near and far sides, and the preparation of the future return sampling missions.”

The mission of China was the first time that an unmanned lunar lander contacted the so-called 'dark side of the Moon', a feat of the US space agency that NASA has not yet achieved.

The impact depression of the crater where the Chinese probe landed was created by an asteroid attack billions of years ago.

But mission scientists have discovered that the impact was so great that it pierced the crust of the Moon and revealed the lunar layer below, the BBC reported.

Researchers have been trying to understand what the mantle that lies between the crust and the core is made of, CNN reported.

Astronomers believe that an opening of magma covered the surface of the Moon in early history, which means that the minerals would have floated to the top.

They explained that the minerals could be olivine and pyroxene, which has been found in the upper mantle of the Earth.

Professor Li Chunlai wrote in the study published in Nature: "Understanding the composition of the lunar layer is essential to test whether an ocean of magma ever existed, as is postulated.

"It also helps advance our understanding of the thermal and magmatic evolution of the moon."

Samples of data collected by the mobile phone have shown traces of olivine in both the crust and the lunar mantle.

Researchers are considering returning samples to Earth.

However, they have said that it will be necessary to gather more material to validate these first interpretations.

By: Preeti Narula

Content: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1127790/moon-space-NASA-news-dark-side-Change-4-china-lunar-probe-secret-yutu2-von-karman-crater


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