New research has confirmed that volcanoes were erupting on the mysterious far side of the moon billions of years ago, similar to the visible side. Lunar soil samples brought back by China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft revealed fragments of volcanic rock dating back 2.8 billion years, with one piece even older at 4.2 billion years.
Experts emphasize the significance of obtaining samples from this unexplored region, providing valuable data that was previously unavailable. The discovery sheds light on the moon's volcanic history, indicating a period of over 1 billion years of volcanic eruptions on the far side.
Previous studies had suggested volcanic activity on the far side, and the recent findings from Chang'e-6 confirm this hypothesis. The research, published in the journals Nature and Science, highlights the active geological past of the moon's hidden hemisphere.
China's space exploration efforts have been instrumental in uncovering lunar secrets. The Chang'e-4 mission in 2019 marked the first visit to the moon's far side, while the Chang'e-5 spacecraft returned rocks from the near side in 2020, following the footsteps of NASA's Apollo missions and Soviet spacecraft from the 1970s.
The moon's far side presents a stark contrast to the near side, characterized by craters and fewer lava-carved plains. The reasons behind this stark difference remain a mystery, prompting further investigation into the moon's geological evolution.
Scientists are now focused on unraveling the longevity of volcanic activity on the moon's far side, aiming to understand the mechanisms that sustained eruptions for such an extended period. The findings open new avenues for lunar research and deepen our understanding of the moon's complex geological history.
