A team of Chinese researchers has made a breakthrough by discovering tiny hematite and maghemite crystals in lunar samples from the Chang’e-6 mission. This is the first time high-valence iron oxides have been found on the Moon. The discovery offers strong evidence that impact events may have caused magnetic anomalies in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin.
Shandong University, the Institute of Geochemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Yunnan University conducted the study. They suggest that these crystals formed during large impact events. Oxygen released in specific areas allowed hematite to form, even though the Moon’s environment normally prevents oxidation.
Ling Zongcheng, deputy director at Shandong University’s School of Space Science and Technology, said, “This discovery challenges our understanding of the Moon’s surface. Unlike Earth, the Moon lacks water and an atmosphere. Finding these iron oxides is surprising and scientifically important.”
The findings, published in Science Advances, provide new insights into the Moon’s evolution and surface changes. The SPA basin, one of the largest impact structures in the solar system, serves as a natural laboratory to study high-temperature oxidation processes. Chang’e-6 samples offer invaluable material for ongoing lunar research.
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