Sample collection can provide insights into lunar volcanism
HINA is the first to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, providing scientists with new insights into the history and formation of our natural satellite.
On June 1, a grab-and-go mission named Chang’e-6 touched down in the Apollo Crater, which sits in the massive South Pole-Aitken Basin, the largest meteorite impact site in the Solar System.
During its two-day stay, Chang’e-6 scooped up 2 kilograms of lunar material using a scoop and drill, which was then loaded into a launch vehicle that rocketed into lunar orbit on June 3. Samples aboard Sange-6 will be transferred to the return vehicle, which will blast back to our planet. They are expected to land on Earth in Inner Mongolia on June 25. It is China’s second successful long-distance landing, following the Chang’e-4 mission in 2019.
“As lunar scientists we all dream of getting samples from far away,” says Kerry Donaldson Hanna, a planetary geologist at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
Such models will help researchers figure out why the two sides of the moon are so completely different. The side facing our planet has abundant evidence of volcanism, visible whenever the Moon is in the sky (SN: 10/7/21). These are lava flows that erupted about 4 billion years ago. In contrast, remote spacecraft observations show very little volcanic activity.
Some scientists suspect that the nearby crust is too thin to allow more magma to come up from below the surface, Donaldson-Hannah says.
There is evidence of some volcanism in the South Pole-Aitken Basin and the Apollo Crater, although this activity occurred about 3.5 billion years ago.
The impact that created both Aiken and Apollo weakened the lunar crust, creating fractures and allowing magma to flow. Samples on Chang’e-6 may hold clues as to whether or not this happened.
Both Chinese and international researchers can study the material. Donaldson looks forward to seeing what insights Hanna will gain from Chang’e-6 and future landers, such as NASA’s commercial Lunar Payload Services program (SN: 2/22/24).
“Upcoming missions are going to many new and unique places on the lunar surface,” he says. “It’s a great time to be a lunar scientist.”
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