A Chinese research team has identified water-rich impactor relics in lunar soil through systemic study of the samples collected by the Chang'e-6 mission.
Scientists from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (GIG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), discovered remnants of carbonaceous Ivuna-like (CI) carbonaceous chondrites, a type of water-bearing meteorite from beyond the solar system, in the samples.
The findings were published in the international academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday.
As CI chondrites are rich in water and volatiles, this finding supports the hypothesis that asteroids played a role in delivering water and other volatiles to the lunar surface, according to the findings.
On June 25, 2024, after a 53-day space journey, Chang'e-6 brought back the first-ever samples collected from the far side of the moon. On June 25, 2024, its returner landed in north China, bringing back over 1.93 kilograms of samples from the far side of the moon.
Since then, Chinese scientists have conducted extensive research on these samples, making discoveries in areas such as magmatic activity on the far side of the moon, the ancient lunar magnetic field, water content in the lunar mantle, and the evolutionary characteristics of the lunar mantle.
Chinese scientists reveal new findings on origin of lunar water
Chinese scientists reveal new findings on origin of lunar water
