China’s Space Team Discovers A Brand-New Mineral On The Moon

A new lunar mineral discovery makes China the third country—behind Russia and the United States—to stumble upon never-before-seen moon ores.

China received the newly uncovered sample in 2020 after it first launched its Chang’e 5 mission. The moon dust samples were brought back to Earth during the same year, and on Friday, September 9, 2022, the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) confirmed, via Xinhua News Agency, that they had found a new mineral and named it ‘Changesite-(Y)’.

Changesite-(Y) is considered to be a phosphate element that is found in the lunar basalts. The report in Xinhua describes the ore as a colorless crystal in the shape of a column, and that it was spotted out of 140,000 particles brought back to the lab for examination.

X-ray diffraction was used to examine the extraterrestrial deposit, which is a crystalline substance about 10 microns in diameter, or one-tenth the diameter of a human hair.

Changesite-(Y) has also been recorded and recognized by the International Mineralogical Association.

As reported by Interesting Engineering, the ore will become the sixth new element found on the Moon. This landmark discovery provides better insight into the evolution and the origins of the Moon itself. The team who researched the Changesite-(Y) believes it will also aid in trips back into space.

[via TechTimes and PC Mag, Photo 153581690 © Elen33 | Dreamstime.com]