Chinese scientists have made another important discovery on the moon!

The National Space Administration announced

Scientific research results of my country's Chang'e-5 lunar samples

Scientists have made unremitting efforts

Continuously make new discoveries and achievements

01

Lunar magma activity

New research refreshes understanding

On January 16, the first Chang'e-5 lunar sample research results seminar was held in Beijing. Experts and researchers from the National Space Administration, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other units conducted in-depth discussions. It is reported that the first batch of samples from Chang'e-5 were distributed to domestic scientists in July 2021. Five sample distributions have been completed so far, totaling 198 samples weighing 65.1 grams.

In 2021, a team of scientists confirmed through research on basalt in lunar samples collected by Chang'e-5 that lunar volcanic activity could have continued until 2 billion years ago, refreshing human understanding of lunar magma activity and thermal evolution history.

Li Xianhua, an academician from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "The team achieved very good results in 2021, publishing three articles in Nature, accurately determining the age of the Chang'e 5 lunar soil samples to be 2.03 billion years. In the past, it was believed that 3 billion years had ended at 2.8 billion years at the latest."

Academician Li Xianhua said that through the study of the Chang'e-5 lunar samples, mankind's understanding of the moon has been deepened, and they are also looking forward to the Chang'e-6 mission bringing more new discoveries.

"The South Pole Aiken Basin has a very large diameter of more than 2,000 kilometers, and is the largest impact crater in our inner solar system. It is likely to reveal a lot of information about the early formation of the moon. Chang'e-6 will be the first time that humans have returned from the far side of the moon to collect samples, and the information this sample will bring about the early evolution of the moon has very important scientific significance, so we are all looking forward to it."

02

my country is the third

The country that discovered new minerals on the moon

In the exploration of the moon, Chinese scientists continue to make new discoveries and achieve new results.

In September 2022, the National Space Administration and the National Atomic Energy Agency jointly released the scientific results of Chang'e-5. Chinese scientists discovered a new mineral on the moon for the first time, named "Chang'e Stone". This is also the sixth new mineral discovered by humans on the moon.

Since the place where Chang'e-5 collects lunar samples is different from other countries' lunar exploration missions, these samples are of great interest to scientific researchers. By studying their formation mechanism, it is possible to provide some clues to the magma evolution of the moon.

However, in the process of discovering the "Chang'e Stone", there were also many difficulties. The first step was data collection.

Li Ting, a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Geology of CNNC, said: "It took us two batches of samples to collect all the data on Chang'e Stone. In the study, we must obtain structural data from a pure single crystal. After screening more than 100,000 particles, we only found a particle containing Chang'e Stone in one rock fragment, and it is possible to extract a single crystal."

After finding the particles, the samples need to be tested. This step is like an extreme challenge of tit-for-tat.

Li Ting said: "The particle we cut out in the end is a 4×7×10 micron particle, which is only about 1/200 to 1/300 of the volume of a sesame seed. The next sample stage has a 10-micron tip, which is equivalent to holding two 10-micron tips in your hand and letting them collide. There is only one chance."

Finally, the new mineral was identified, and my country became the third country in the world to discover a new mineral on the moon. This not only reflects China's modern science and engineering technology level, but also is the Chinese people's contribution to human lunar research and deep space exploration.

Source: CCTV Military