The Moon’s mantle may have been remelted by an ancient asteroid impact. This is the conclusion reached by a team of Chinese scientists after studying samples brought back by the Chang’e-6 mission, TASS reports with reference to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The samples — collected from the far side of the Moon near its south pole — contained material not typically associated with the Moon’s mantle.
“This suggests that the rocks forming the ancient mantle either originally contained very little of this material or were remelted as a result of the asteroid impact that created the Moon’s largest known crater,” the Academy explained.
Researchers estimate that the impact responsible for this remelting occurred between 4.2 and 4.3 billion years ago. However, they also note the possibility that the unusual elements may have been present in the Moon’s mantle from its earliest formation.
The Chang’e-6 mission, which successfully returned samples from the lunar far side, marks a major milestone in China's ambitious lunar program. In September 2024, planetary scientist Clive Neal of the University of Notre Dame warned in SpaceNews that China's lunar plans should serve as a wake-up call for NASA.
