In a historic milestone in 2018, the Chinese unmanned probe Chang'e-4 managed to perform a successful landing in the dark side of the Moon.
Since then, equipped with advanced technology, the rover Yutu 2, which traveled aboard the probe, has been capturing images details of the impact craters and collected samples of the minerals present in the depths of our satellite Natural.
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Now, after five years, the data collected by the rover have revealed the first 300 meters of the lunar surface.
This reveals that the Moon is a box of surprises, with many layers, ready to be revealed with rich details throughout the research. These discoveries, for example, span billions of years.
China discovers new lunar feature
The results of this groundbreaking investigation, conducted by China, were detailed in an article recently published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
The research explored deep into the Moon using a pioneering technology called Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR), installed on the Yutu 2 rover.
According to Jianqing Feng, the lead author of the study and an astrogeological researcher at the Institute of Planetary Science in Tucson, in the US state of Arizona, the device operates by emitting radio signals towards the depths of the surface lunar.
The signals bounce back in the form of radio waves, similar to echoes, from underground structures. With this, the interaction enables scientists to create a mapping of the lunar subsurface.
Yutu-2 had already carried out probes using LPR (Lunar Penetrating Radar), exposing the first 40 meters of the lunar surface in 2020.
This groundbreaking exploration had not reached such significant depths until now. According to Feng, this research reveals that the first 40 meters of the lunar surface consists of multiple layers of dust, sand and fragmented rock.
Within these elements, a crater was hidden, whose origin dates back to a collision between the Moon and an object of great proportions.
The researchers also speculate that the debris around this crater could be remnants of the impact. At shallower depths, the team identified five distinct layers of lava that seeped into the lunar surface billions of years ago.
The Moon and its more than 4 billion years
The researchers explain that the formation of the Moon dates back to approximately 4.51 billion years, shortly after the evolution of the Solar System.
In that landmark event, an object the size of Mars collided with Earth, breaking off a significant piece of our planet.
The fragment, over time, became Earth's only natural satellite: the Moon. In the first 200 million years after its formation, the Moon was the target of constant impacts from space objects, creating several fissures on its surface.
According to the studies treated by Feng, the Moon, originated from a fragment of the Earth, presented remarkable similarities with its progenitor planet.
(Image: Midjourney/China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation/Editorial Edit via Fontech Startitup/Playback)
The first aspects of its existence involved intense volcanic activity, resembling the process that occurred on Earth at the same time.
The lunar mantle harbored pockets of magma that flowed through newly formed fissures, triggering volcanic eruptions.
The eruptions gradually subsided over time, culminating in a significant discovery in the current research: volcanic rock layers were thinnest in areas closer to the surface lunar.
This pattern suggests that later volcanic eruptions were less intense than earlier ones, indicating a progressive cooling of the Moon.
It is widely accepted by scientists that volcanic activity on the Moon subsided approximately 1 billion years ago. years, although there is some evidence of more recent volcanism, dating to around 100 million years ago back.
This decline in volcanic activity has led to the Moon often being characterized as "geologically dead".
Despite this, the possibility that there is still presence of magma in locks on the lunar surface is offered by Feng.
He expresses the hope that future missions, such as Chang'e-4, can provide a more comprehensive picture of the different geological formations not yet revealed on Earth's natural satellite.
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