China's Chang'e-5 Mission Unveils New Lunar Mineral, Enhancing Moon's Geological Understanding

The discovery of a new mineral, Changesite-(Y), in samples from the moon's surface by China's Chang'e-5 mission offers fresh insights into the moon's geological history and impact processes.

• China's Chang'e-5 mission returned 3.8 pounds of lunar samples from the Oceanus Procellarum, revealing a new mineral named Changesite-(Y) and a perplexing combination of known minerals.
• The presence of high-pressure silica minerals like seifertite and stishovite, typically formed under intense conditions, suggests a complex impact history on the moon's surface.
• Changesite-(Y), a phosphate mineral with transparent column-shaped crystals, was discovered, marking the sixth new lunar mineral found.
• The findings could provide key information about the moon's magmatic activity, thermal evolution, and the effects of asteroid impacts over billions of years.
• China plans to launch its next moon mission, Chang'e-6, in May, aiming to gather samples from the South Pole-Aitken basin on the far side of the moon.

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