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Chinese scientists have discovered a new lunar mineral in the form of a crystal lurking within samples collected from the moon in 2020.
Changesite- (Y), named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, they change, is a phosphate mineral and a columnar crystal. It is found in lunar basalt particles that are being examined in laboratories in China.
The discovery was made by researchers at the Beijing Uranium Geology Research Institute who found a single crystal of Changesite-(Y) using X-ray diffraction while studying particles collected on the moon.
Related: The latest news about China’s space program
The result was announced at a press conference on September 9. Committee on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC (Opens in a new tab)) of the International Minerals Association (IMA) confirmed that it is a new metal, according to (Opens in a new tab)For Chinese state media, Global Times.
This discovery means that China is the third country to discover a new lunar mineral, after the United States and the former Soviet Union, which conducted Apollo crew lands on the moon And the color Sample return missions, respectively.
The Chang’e 5 The mission landed at Oceanus Procellarum in December 2020 and was the first return mission to a lunar sample since the 1970s.
The mission collected 3.81 pounds (1.73 kilograms) of lunar samples and Deliver them safely To Earth to study, leading to a group of discoveries.
The next lunar mission is expected to be China Chang’e 6. Will try to collect the first samples from Far side of the moon that never faces the earth.
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