New Delhi:
China’s Chang’e-6 Spacecraft made history in June by retrieving the first sample from the far side of the moon, which actually faces away from the earth. The retrieved material is now providing insight to the geological history, including the oldest evidence of lunar volcanism.
On Friday, researchers reported that this rock sample has crucial information on the Moon’s volcanic activities around four billion years ago. Scientist seek to know more about how the Moon evolved , what forms of magma exist, and how volcanic eruptions alter its surface.
“The Change’-6 samples provide a unique opportunity to study far-side volcanism,” said lunar scientist Qiu- Li Li of the Chinese Academy of sciences, who helped the study in the Journal Nature, one of the two published on Friday detailing the finding, the other the Journal Science.
Also Read: “This Could be Last” Sourav Ganguly’s Bold Remark on Virat Kohli
Li said that the Change’-6 samples also differ in composition compared with previously collected lunar samples from the near side. Currently, in contrast to Earth and Venus, the Moon shows no signs of active Volcanism.
Furthermore, Li stated that the latest data suggest volcanic eruptions on the lunar far side dating back over a billion years. Future research will investigate how the activity lasted so long.
