Chang’e-6 Lunar Samples Uncover Water-Rich Material from Ancient Asteroids
Scientists analyzing lunar soil returned by China’s Chang’e-6 mission have identified rare meteorite fragments that suggest the Earth and Moon were struck by water-rich asteroids more frequently than previously believed. The mission, which collected the first-ever samples from the Moon’s far side in June 2024, yielded two grams of dust containing microscopic olivine-bearing clasts. These fragments share the chemical signature of CI carbonaceous chondrites, a class of asteroid known for being rich in water and organic molecules. Such delicate space rocks rarely survive passage through Earth’s atmosphere, making their discovery on the Moon particularly valuable. Devamını Oku