China has taken a look at the first lunar samples returned to Earth in more than 45 years.
The lunar regolith was collected by the country’s Chang’e 5 mission that returned in December with 3.8 pounds of soil and rocks from our natural satellite.
The images show the samples as small as dust particles to larger lumps, along with samples in a crystal container that will be on display at the National Museum of China.
The container is designed as a ritual Chinese wine barrel, or ‘zun’, and holds the moon dust in a sacred sphere that represents both the moon and the Chang’5 re-entry capsule.
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China has shared a look at the first lunar samples returned to Earth in more than 45 years
China’s lunar mission was the first to return samples since the former Soviet Union’s Lunar 24 robotic mission in 1976 and is now the 21st mission to be launched on the lunar surface.
The Chang’e-5 soared atop the Long March-5 rocket from Wenchang launch site in Hainan Province in November, marking a significant advance in the country’s space program.
The probe focused on a 4,265-foot volcanic complex called Mons Rumker on the near side of the moon, a region known as Oceanus Procellarum, which is Latin for Ocean of Storms.
The area is “very unusual and nowhere near where we landed before,” said James Head, a professor of geological sciences at Brown University, after its launch in November.
The lunar regolith was collected by the country’s Chang’e 5 mission that returned in December with 3.8 pounds of soil and rocks from our natural satellite
“ It raises really important questions because these samples are actually going to tell us how young the moon had volcanic activity, which is an indication of how recently it has been geologically active, a crucial question in the evolution of the planets, ” he added. to. .
The images show the samples as small as dust particles to larger lumps, along with samples in a crystal container
The probe returned on Dec. 17 with moon rocks and earth safely stored inside, and China has provided the first official look at the cosmic wonders.
The age of the rocks and soil should help scientists fill a gap in knowledge about the history of the moon between about a billion and three billion years ago, Brad Jolliff, director of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University in the American city of St. Louis, said in an email.
They could also provide clues about the availability of economically useful resources on the Moon, such as concentrated hydrogen and oxygen, Jolliff said.
“These monsters will be a treasure trove!” Jolliff said when the probe returned in December.
‘My hat is off to our Chinese colleagues for carrying out a very difficult mission; the science resulting from the analysis of the returned samples will be a legacy that will last many, many years, and hopefully the international community of scientists will be involved. ‘
The age of the rocks and soil should help scientists close a gap in knowledge about the history of the moon between about a billion and three billion years ago
The probe focused on a 4,265-foot-high volcanic complex called Mons Rumker on the near side of the Moon, a region known as Oceanus Procellarum, which is Latin for Ocean of Storms
The image shared by China shows samples of fine, grainy material, along with chunks of basalt glass formed on the surface by lunar volcanism, according to the description of the image.
Some of the soil collected in 2020 will be on display at Beijing’s National Museum of China, CGTN shared in a release.
The 38.44 centimeter high expanded container is a nod to the average distance between the Earth and the Moon, which is 384,400 kilometers.
It is also 22.89 inches wide, symbolizing the Chang’e-5 mission’s time from launch to landing, 22.89 days.
“Eighty percent of the samples will be used for scientific research,” Pei Zhaoyu, deputy chief designer of China’s CNSA Lunar Exploration Program Phase-3, said at a press conference Jan. 18. The remaining 20 percent would be stored permanently. storage.