News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 17th November 2024
Evidence of ancient volcanic activity has been found by scientists on the moon’s far side, which has a very different geology than the side that is visible from Earth. Fragments of volcanic basalt that date back more than 4.2 billion years were discovered by US and Chinese experts after they analyzed samples taken by China’s Chang’e-6 mission. The results, which were released on Friday in Nature and Science, provide fresh insight into the moon’s volcanic past. Although there is ample evidence of volcanic activity on the near side, nothing is known about the far side, which is sometimes referred to as the “dark side.”
In addition, evidence of a “surprisingly young” eruption approximately 2.83 billion years ago—much younger than any volcanic activity previously documented on the near side—was discovered through radiometric dating of the samples, which was spearheaded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“This is an incredibly exciting study,” wrote Professor Qiuli Li from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics in a peer review. “It will be of immense importance to the lunar and planetary science community.
The Chang’e-6 mission, which lasted almost two months and included sending out a tiny rover to take pictures of the stony surface, yielded the samples—the first ever recovered from the far side.This area, despite being referred to as the “dark side,” receives sunlight but is obscured from Earth’s view because of the moon’s tidally locked orbit. To guarantee that the same side is constantly facing us, the moon rotates and orbits the Earth in about 27 days.
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 took the first images of the far side in 1959. More in-depth perspectives of the area have since been made possible by better photos and movies, like as one from NASA that features Earth in the background.Another significant advancement in lunar exploration is the Chang’e-6 mission, which provides previously unheard-of insights into the moon’s geological and volcanic past.
