That mission, and the long 2020 robot mission before that, is the first to bring the moon rock back to Earth since the 1970s. Together they are based on what scientists learned from missions during the Apollo era, unraveling the mystery of how the moon formed and why it looks like it is today, and the solar system It provides clues about history.
But there are big puzzles remaining, such as why the other side of the moon (always far from Earth is fundamentally different from near, and the moon’s volcano has been much more active recently than previously thought. What is behind the incredible discovery that they may have been? “The more we look at the moon, the more we discover, and the more we understand how unfamiliar we don’t know.” says Clive R. Neal, a geologist at the University of Notre Dame who specializes in Lunar exploration.
As NASA plans to send astronauts back to the moon’s surface in 2027 for the first time since 1972, geologists are excited by the rocks there and the scientific secrets that those samples can reveal . For renewable energy back to bases or homes on Earth.
The story of origin
Samples brought back from the moon by the Apollo Mission and the Luna Mission of the Soviet Union in the 1970s The history of the moon. As the lunar sample shared strong similarities with Earth’s rocks, this added weight to the idea that the moon formed when a Mars-sized object called Theia collided with Proto-arth. 4.5 billion years ago.
The fragments from the impact were thrown into orbit around the Earth and eventually merged into the moon. In the early days, the moon was completely melting. As the magma oceans cooled for hundreds of millions of years, the moon formed a crust and mantle beneath. A huge pool of lava hit the crater and settled in the lowlands of the moon, or in the Mary (Latin for “sea”), but highlands and volcanic domes loomed above them. In the end, the volcano disappeared.
Without plate tectonics or weather, the only thing left to change the cold withered surface of the moon was met stone. Many Apollo-era samples are known to have been formed from impact heat and pressure about 3.9 billion years ago, suggesting that they are short results of intense panmering by space rocks called late heavy artillery. I’m doing it.
However, research since the 1970s has refined or altered this photograph. High-resolution orbital images reveal many large impact craters that appear to be much older, for example, 3.9 billion years. And it is known that metstones found on Earth were driven out of various regions of the moon during a major impact, spanning a vast range of ages.
All of these work together Asteroid artillery fire did not occur in one dramatic spike, but rather took place over a long period of time, beginning with 4.2 billion to 3.4 billion years ago. In this scenario, the 3.9 billion-year Apollo sample could have come from just one major influence that spits rocks over a very large area, all containing Apollo-era landing sites.
Moon: Dead or alive
A bigger mystery surrounds the moon’s volcanic activity. “The standard thing I learned in school was that the moon had been geologically dead for billions of years,” says Samuel, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Lawrence says.
A long-standing theory was that a small body like the moon should have lost heat to the universe relatively quickly. And a frigid, fire-fighting month should not have extensive volcanic activity. Apollo-era samples suggested that most of this volcanic activity ceased 3 billion years ago or earlier, supporting the theory. However, research over the past 20 years has overturned that view.
In 2014, Lawrence and colleagues said that some patches of irregular terrain in the middle of the Dark Plains, or some patches of mares discovered by NASA’s lunar reconnaissance orbiter were the result of volcanism. I’ve assumed. Less than 100 million years ago. “That’s absolutely amazing,” says Qing Zhu Yin, a cosmo chemist at the University of California, Davis.
The latest sample return mission has added more specific evidence of recent volcanic activity. In 2020, the Chang’e-5 robot mission landed in Oceanus Procellarum (The Ocean of Storms). This was chosen in part because it looked geologically younger given the accumulation of craters. As expected, the volcanic rocks brought home by that mission 2 billion years agoThe youngest person to be retrieved from the moon. “That was big news,” says Jim, principal of Planet Earth Scientist at Brown University, who worked on NASA’s Apollo mission.
In addition to this, when researchers trolled thousands of glass beads found in Chang’e-5 soil samples, they identified three that are volcanic, as most of them are thought to have been created by impact. I did. 120 million years old. The finding was published last year and still needs to be verified, but if such a recent date continues, it suggests that the month may be It is possible to produce deep magma today.Yin says.
All this indicates that the moon may not be cooled as quickly as everyone thought it would. It is also possible that some of the young volcanic activity drove underground radioactive elements, producing enough heat to form magma, and is known to be common in certain patches of the moon. . This could explain, for example, volcanic glass beads from 120 million years ago. However, not all early volcanic activity can be explained in this way. The volcanic rocks of Chang’e-5, along with about 2.8 billion-year-old volcanic rocks brought back by Chang’e-6, came from Source Rocks. do not have These elements are concentrated.
“I pose more questions than answers,” Neil says. “It’s job security for people like me. We have a new question now.”
Exploring the previous moon
Solving these mysteries is challenging for many untapped people. Around 850 pounds of lunar rocks and soil are being returned to Earth, but it’s all from a handful of sites.
Chang’e-6 enlarged this photo by bringing back the first sample from beyond the moon, taken from the Antarctic-Steel Basin, the satellite’s largest, deepest and oldest impact crater. Researchers want to use these samples to begin determining why the far side is dramatically different from the near side. The question that remains unanswered is why there are thick layers in the distance and few mares are from the ancient sea of lava compared to the nearest side.
NASA’s Artemis III mission is planned for 2027 (though it can do so) change), aims to break more new ground by landing astronauts near the lunar Antarctic – at a location that represents the typical geology of the moon more than the Apollo site, 150-180 Take home a sample of Bonanza from pounds.
This site should provide fresh geological insights along with more information about lunar water. In 2018, scientists analyzed orbital mapping data I’ve confirmed that there’s water ice With Paul – but in a way no one knows yet. “Is it frost on the surface? Is it a separate patch underneath the surface? Is it absorbed by mineral grains? Is it baked into cement-like regolith?” NASA’s Julian Gross is the Artemis Science team They say they are supporting the development of sample collection and curation plans for the month. “I don’t understand.”
What Artemis astronauts find can inform ongoing projects led by China and the US to establish permanent bases on the moon, which can benefit from Antarctica water . “It’s something you can breathe, it’s something you can drink, it’s that Rocket fuelLawrence says.
Moon Quarry
In addition to water ice, other potentially minable resources on the moon are attracting attention. Helium-3. This stable isotope of helium is much more abundant on the moon than on Earth, and could be an ideal fuel Nuclear Fusion (If the physicist can make the process work). A commercial company has appeared trying to mine the moon. Interruneplans to bring Helium 3 back to Earth in the 2030s, followed by other resources such as rare earth elements needed for technology such as batteries. But when moon mining becomes a reality, given logistics, economics and legal concerns, it’s an open question, Lawrence says.
Some people feel the idea of mining the untouched moon rather than mining, but Neal says mining on Earth could have a side benefit. As the polar temperature is -230°C (-380°F), lunar mining should be done without liquid. Developing the technologies needed for liquid-free mining can reduce environmental concerns regarding wastewater and exhaust liquids from mining on Earth. “Think about how we can revolutionize mining on this planet,” he says.
But first, researchers need to simply know more about the moon, its history, its geology, and the possibilities of extracting resources, and the possibilities of extracting it. “Once you’re on the ground, you say, oh… what is this?” Gross says. She hopes that astronauts will bring home a large number of astronauts. “The more they get back, the more we can do it.”
This article was originally published Knowledgeable magazinea non-profit publication dedicated to making scientific knowledge accessible to everyone. Sign up for our Knowable Magazine newsletter.
