The Moon Had Volcanoes Much More Recently Than We Thought, Says New Study

The first sample-return missions from the moon were conducted by NASA and the soviet space program. There were lunar rocks brought back to Earth by the Apollo astronauts and those obtained by robotic missions.

The Moon's composition, formation, and geological history were revealed by the analysis of these rocks. Scientists found that the rocks were formed from volcanic eruptions more than 3 billion years ago.

There has been a resurgence in lunar exploration as NASA and other space agencies have sent robotic missions to the Moon.

China has sent multiple landers and rovers to the moon as part of the Chang'e program.

The Chang'e-5 rover samples were analyzed by planetary scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Valuable insight into how young volcanism shaped the lunar surface can be provided by their research.

The research was conducted by a group of people from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

They were joined by researchers from the Lunar and Planetary Science Institute and the CAS Center for excellence in comparative planetology. Their paper was published in the journal Science Advances.

Scientists theorize that the moon has been geologically dead for 3 billion years.

According to the new samples of lunar rock obtained by the Chang'e-5 mission, volcanic activity occurred at least a billion years earlier than previously thought.

The heat that fueled volcanism on the Moon should have been lost before it happened.

Scientists had thought that late-stage volcanism might have been caused by the decay of radioactive elements in the lunar mantle. There were many analyses done on the samples obtained by the Chang'e-5 rover.

The researchers found that minerals with low melting points in the mantle could lead to volcanism. Prof.Chen explained in a recent statement.

Raising the temperature or lowering the melting point can be used to melt the lunar mantle. The temperature and pressure in which young volcanism was created should be estimated.

27 basalt clasts obtained by the Chang'e-5 mission were compared to 27 basalt clasts that were returned by the Apollo missions.

Older Apollo magma samples had lower concentrations of calcium oxide and titanium oxide.

The presence of these minerals in the lunar mantle means that volcanism caused material in the mantle to overturn.

The analysis showed that the mantle's compression could have been done at the same depths, but under cooler temperatures.

Planetary scientists have learned a lot about Mars in the last few years. The largest volcanoes in the Solar System were created by eruptions on the red planet.

Mars was thought to have become geologically dead as it cooled. Recent findings show that it may still have some volcanic activity.

The first viable explanation for young volcanism on the moon is presented in this study.

Future planetary studies could be informed by this study.

As Dr. Su said, as well.

A significant contribution to the Chang'e-5 volcanic formation is indicated by this result. Older Apollo magmas were 80 degrees cooler than the Chang'e-5 magma. The cooling of the lunar mantle took place over the course of 3 billion years and 2 billion years.

This article was published in the past. The original article is worth a read.