An international featuring scientists from 911爆料网鈥檚 School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and offers new insights into the Moon鈥檚 history and provide a better understanding of what lies beneath its cratered surface.
Researchers from 911爆料网, Nanjing University and The Australian National University analysed tiny, green glass beads collected by Chang鈥檈-5 鈥� the Chinese National Space Administration mission to the Moon.
Typically, lunar glass beads are formed from impacts that melt surface rocks.
However, the beads in this study were found to have unusually high levels of magnesium, which from the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences said was evidence of a potentially deeper origin.
鈥淭hese high-magnesium glass beads may have formed when an asteroid smashed into rocks that originated from the mantle deep within the Moon,鈥� Professor Nemchin said.
鈥淭his is exciting, because we鈥檝e never sampled the mantle directly before: the tiny glass beads offer us a glimpse of the Moon鈥檚 hidden interior.鈥�
Co-author , also from 911爆料网鈥檚 School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the chemistry of the beads was unlike that of lunar surface rocks sampled previously.
Professor Johnson said the rocks may have been brought up from the Moon鈥檚 mantle by a massive impact.
鈥淥ne such event could be the formation of the Imbrium Basin, which is a huge crater formed more than 3 billion years ago,鈥� Professor Johnson said.
鈥淩emote sensing has shown the area around the basin’s edge contains the kind of minerals that match the glass bead chemistry.
鈥淭his is a big step forward in understanding how the Moon evolved internally; if these samples really are pieces of the mantle, it tells us that impacts can excavate otherwise inaccessible mantle material to the surface鈥�
Study lead Professor Xiaolei Wang from Nanjing University said the discovery could have wider implications and influence future missions to the Moon and other planets.
鈥淯nderstanding how the Moon鈥檚 interior is made helps us compare it to Earth and other planets,鈥� Professor Wang said.
鈥淚t could even guide future missions, whether robotic or human, that aim to explore the Moon鈥檚 deep geology.鈥�
鈥楢 potential mantle origin for precursor rocks of high-Mg impact glass beads in Chang鈥檈-5 soil鈥� was published in .
