A significant new accomplishment that was just accomplished by Chinese scientists was the discovery of the sixth new lunar mineral. The surface samples sent back by the nation’s Change 5 robotic mission allowed them to make the discovery of the mineral, which they dubbed Change site-(Y). The International Mineralogical Association and its Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature, and Classification have given their stamp of approval to this mineral.
In order to get the mineral, which consists of a single crystalline particle that is 10 microns in diameter, researchers had to meticulously separate it from more than 140,000 minute particles.
The lunar samples that were recovered by scientists weighed around 1,731 grams and were the first lunar samples to be recovered by scientists in more than 40 years. In July of 2021, the China National Space Administration dispersed the first batch of Change 5 lunar samples to research institutions across the world.
Li Ziying, chief scientist of lunar sample research at the institute, explained that the discovery of the new mineral will help researchers in their studies on the history and physical traits of the moon.
He said the history of the place where the Chang’e 5 probe landed and collected the samples is much younger than that of the landing sites of previous US and Soviet missions, therefore the characteristics of soil samples from there might be different from the US’ Apollo and Soviet Union’s Luna samples.
The head scientist of the institute’s lunar sample research indicated that the finding of the new mineral will assist researchers in their investigations into the history and physical characteristics of the moon.
Because of advances in technology and the one-of-a-kind atmosphere at the sample location of the Change-5 probe in the northwest part of Oceanus Procellarum, commonly known as the Ocean of Storms, on the Moon, scientists were able to uncover what they were looking for.
