Posted on May 16, 2019 in Astronomy, Science
China’s fourth Chang’E probe (CE-4) was the first mission to land on the far side of the moon, and it has collected new evidence from the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the largest crater in the solar system, clarifying how the moon may have evolved providing a window into the evolution of Earth and other terrestrial planets because its surface is relatively untouched compared for example, to the early surface of Earth.
China named the landing site of its Chang’e-4 lunar probe “Statio Tianhe” –after the Chinese name for the Milky Way Galaxy for the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon last month. The Chang’e-4 probe, launched on December 8, landed on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on January 3.
A theory emerged in the 1970s that in the moon’s infancy, an ocean made of magma covered its surface. As the molten ocean began to calm and cool, lighter minerals floated to the top, while heavier components sank. The top crusted over in a sheet of mare basalt, encasing a mantle of dense minerals, such as olivine and pyroxene.
An image captured by Chang’E 4 showed the landscape near the landing site. (NAOC/CNSA)
As asteroids and space junk crashed into the surface of the moon, they cracked through the crust and kicked up pieces of the lunar mantel. “Understanding the composition of the lunar mantel is critical for testing whether a magma ocean ever existed, as postulated,” said corresponding author Li Chunlai, a professor of the National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC). “It also helps advance our understanding of the thermal and magmatic evolution of the moon.”
“The Milky Way Base” –China Names First Human-Technology Landing Site on Moon’s Far Side
Li and his team landed CE-4 in the moon’s South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, which stretches about 2,500 kilometers—about half the width of China. CE-4 collected spectral data samples from the flat stretches of the basin, as well as from other smaller but deeper impact craters within the basin.
The researchers expected to find a wealth of excavated mantle material on the flat floor of the SPA basin, since the originating impact would have penetrated well into and past the lunar crust. Instead, they found mere traces of olivine, the primary component of the Earth’s upper mantle.
“The absence of abundant olivine in the SPA interior remains a conundrum,” Li said. “Could the predictions of an olivine-rich lunar mantle be incorrect?” Not quite. As it turns out, more olivine appeared in the samples from deeper impacts. One theory, according to Li, is that the mantle consists of equal parts olivine and pyroxene, rather than being dominated by one or the other.
“Our Water Moon” –‘Hidden in Shadows of Eternal Darkness Billions of Years Old’
CE-4 will need to explore more to better understand the geology of its landing site, as well as collect much more spectral data to validate its initial findings and to fully understand the composition of the lunar mantle.
China’s base on the lunar far side could eventually lead to the placement of a radio telescope for use by astronomers, something that would help “fill a void” in man’s knowledge of the universe. Radio transmissions from Earth are unable to reach the moon’s far side, making it an excellent location for sensitive instruments.
The moon’s far hemisphere is never directly visible from Earth and while it has been photographed, with the first images appearing in 1959, it has never been explored. A pioneering radio telescope on the moons virgin far side, will give it an unobstructed window on the cosmos
The Daily Galaxy, Max Goldberg via Chinese Academy of Sciences
Read about The Daily Galaxy editorial team here