Chinese and Australian researchers have uncovered groundbreaking insights into the moon's interior using tiny green glass beads collected by China's Chang'e-5 mission, according to findings published in Science Advances. The discovery offers the first indirect sampling of the lunar mantle and challenges previous assumptions about the moon's geological history.
The beads, extracted from 2020 lunar samples, contain unusually high levels of magnesium compared to typical impact-formed lunar glass. Alexander Nemchin of Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences explained: "These high-magnesium glass beads may have formed when an asteroid smashed into rocks originating from the mantle deep within the moon."
This research marks a significant breakthrough, as scientists have never directly sampled the moon's mantle. The glass beads act as natural "time capsules" preserving materials from depths exceeding 30 kilometers below the lunar surface. The study opens new avenues for understanding planetary formation processes shared by Earth and other celestial bodies.
The collaboration between China National Space Administration and Australian researchers demonstrates the growing international nature of space exploration. While the Chang'e-5 mission originally aimed to study relatively young lunar volcanic rocks, these incidental findings reveal unexpected opportunities for fundamental planetary science.
