Recent results from materials retrieved by China's Chang'e 6 mission have revealed important details about the moon's past, particularly its far side.
The Chang'e 6 mission launched in early May 2024, landed in the enormous South Pole-Aitken (SPA), and returned to Earth in late June with the first samples from the moon's far side, weighing 4 pounds and 4.29 ounces (1,935.3 grammes).
New research from scientists at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, published in the journal Science, found that sample analysis supports an established model of the moon as a global liquid magma ocean in the early days of its formation, which likely lasted tens to hundreds of millions of years.
The scientists discovered by analysing basalt fragments retrieved from this region that these rocks share a similar composition to low-titanium basalts previously collected by Nasa's Apollo missions to the moon's near side.
Additionally, this connection helps to build a more complete picture of the moon's volcanic processes.
Moreover, at the same time, some of the material in the Chang'e 6 samples deviated from those of the Apollo missions in terms of the ratio of certain Uranium and Lead isotopes.