(ORDO NEWS) — Chinese scientists have allegedly discovered a previously unknown mineral in lunar soil samples. It was delivered to Earth by the Chanye-5 spacecraft two years ago.
Chanye 5 is a Chinese lunar exploration mission consisting of a landing platform and a sample delivery vehicle.
The device successfully landed on the satellite on December 1, 2020, and already on December 16, the capsule with samples successfully landed in China. In total, Chanye-5 “brought” 1731 grams of rock.
What was found in the lunar soil
– The mineral, previously unknown to science, was named “Chanye Stone”. This is the sixth such case in history, but the first for China.
– The researchers isolated a single-crystal particle about 10 microns in size from lunar soil samples and deciphered its structure.
– Chanye stone is a phosphate mineral and has a columnar crystal shape.
– Unfortunately, there are no more details about this, as well as any confirmation.
It should be noted that China became the first state in the last 44 years to carry out a mission to transport geological rock from the surface of the moon.
The Long March-5 rocket with the probe was launched from the Wenchang Cosmodrome on Hainan Island on November 24, 2020.
Recall that soon NASA will conduct an experiment in which the DART spacecraft will collide at high speed with an asteroid called Dimorph.
The agency wants to check whether earthlings can change the trajectory of space bodies in this way in order to save our planet from a hypothetical asteroid fall. The mission will be broadcast live.
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