Chang’e 5 is China’s first space mission to collect new samples of lunar rocks and soil and return them to Earth. The probe landed on December 1, 2020 at 23:11 Beijing time near the Mons Ruecker area. Soon, work began that continues to this day.
Amazing discovery on the moon
On January 7, 2022, in a research article in the journal Science Advances, researchers shared a groundbreaking discovery – traces of water were found on the Moon.
A team of researchers from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) analyzed the images and data captured by the Chang’e 5 lander. They showed that lunar soil contains about 120 grams of water per ton of soil. A spectrometer was used for the tests Optical emission with spark excitation. Spectrophotometers are used to analyze the elemental composition of the samples taken.
Scientists have found that most of the particles come from the shallow layers of the moon. They were created thanks to the solar wind that brought hydrogen with it. Some of the water only comes from deeper layers. The researchers emphasize, however, that the samples were obtained using an in situ method, which is of limited capacity. So it is likely that there will be more water on the moon.
Research on the presence of water on the Moon has been more intense lately. This is related to plans to build manned stations on the moon’s surface.
See also: Two minutes into the night two months after the polar day. Total solar eclipse over Antarctica
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