'Mysteries Unveiled: Hidden Structures Found on the Moon’s Far Side'

Researchers have revealed billions of years' worth of mysteries hidden under the Earth's crust. moon .

For centuries, our celestial neighbor has inspired wonder and intrigue, yet thanks to advancements made by China’s space program, we're beginning to unravel its history.

In 2018, the Chang'e-4 lander from the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) made history as the first spacecraft to touch down on the far side—or what some call the dark side—of the Moon.

Ever since, it has been acquiring remarkable photographs of impact craters and collecting mineral specimens, providing valuable insights into the composition of the upper 1,000-foot layer of the lunar exterior.

At the beginning of this month, the discoveries made by Chang'e-4 were released for public viewing, giving everyone an opportunity to explore the rich history of our beloved moon.

The findings, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets It is disclosed that the upper 130 feet (40 meters) of the moon's exterior consist of various strata of dust, dirt, and fragmented rocks.

Buried beneath these strata lies a crater, created when a substantial body collided with the moon. This conclusion was drawn by Jianqing Feng, an astrogeologist from the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, who jointly directed this groundbreaking study.

Underneath, Feng and his team found five separate layers of lunar lava that once flowed across the surface billions of years ago.

Specialists think that our moon came into existence around 4.51 billion years ago due to a collision between Earth and an object roughly the size of Mars, which dislodged part of our planet in the process. Live Science notes.

During the next approximately 200 million years, the Moon endured repeated bombardment from cosmic rubble, resulting in various collisions that created fissures across its exterior.

Similar to what occurs on Earth, the Moon's mantle held regions of molten magma. According to Feng, these areas seeped into freshly created fissures due to a sequence of volcanic activities.

However, the new data provided by Chang’e-4 showed that the closer the volcanic rock was to the moon’s surface, the thinner it got.

"[The moon] was slowly cooling down and running out of steam in its later volcanic stage," Feng said. "Its energy became weak over time."

As expected, volcanic activity on the moon ceased between one billion and 100 million years ago, leading to its classification as "largely geologically inactive."

Nonetheless, Feng and his collaborators have proposed that there might still be submerged magma hidden far below the moon's surface.

Chang'e-4 still has numerous tasks ahead, and Feng and his team are hopeful that this marks the start of their groundbreaking lunar cartography efforts.

The article was initially published on May 2, 2023.

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