China claims discovery of a new mineral on the moon for the first time
For the first time, Chinese scientists have claimed the discovery of a new mineral on the Moon, making China the third country to do so.
During a press conference on Friday, Dong Baotong, vice chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), announced the name of the new mineral as Changesite-(Y), according to a report published by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
“This is a major scientific achievement China has made in the field of space science,” said Baotong.
“It is also a powerful exploration of cross-industry and cross-professional cooperation between nuclear and aerospace.”
Changesite-(Y) is a phosphate mineral in columnar crystal found in lunar basalt particles.
From the 140,000 lunar sample particles, researchers from the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology identified, analyzed, and interpreted a single crystal particle with a radius of around 10 microns using sophisticated techniques, including X-ray diffraction.
China’s Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) has classified Changesite-(Y) as a new mineral.
It is the sixth new mineral identified by humans on the Moon, and China has joined the US and Russia as the three countries in the world to do so.
In 2020, China’s Chang’e-5 mission returned lunar samples to Earth for the first time in over 40 years, weighing roughly 1,731 grams. The newly discovered lunar mineral was also retrieved from the Moon.
Researchers from several agencies, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Natural Resources, participated in the study of Moon samples.
The discoveries they have made so far have significant ramifications for our understanding of the Moon’s formation and evolution, as well as our efforts to determine the most efficient way to use its resources.
Source: Interesting Engineering
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China claims discovery of a new mineral on the moon for the first time