Chinese rover sheds light on mantle; NASA spots crash site
BEIJING/WASHINGTON: China’s Chang’e-4 mission, the first to perform a soft landing on the far side of the Moon, has shed light on the chemical and mineralogical composition of the lunar mantle, an advance that could unravel the mystery of the evolution of Earth and its natural satellite.
The Chinese spacecraft became the first mission to land on the lunar far side in January. The rover Yutu-2 then rolled off the lander to explore its surroundings.
Using data obtained by the visible and near infrared spectrometer installed on Yutu-2, a research team led by Li Chunlai, with the National Astronomical Observatories of China under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that the lunar soil in the landing area of the Chang’e-4 probe contains olivine and pyroxene which came from the lunar mantle deep inside the Moon.
The first important scientific discovery of the Chang’e-4 probe was published online in the latest issue of the academic journal Nature. The Moon comprises a core, mantle and crust, like the Earth.
ISRAELI CRAFT CRASHLANDING SITE SPOTTED
NASA’S Moon orbiting spacecraft - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) - has spotted the impact site of the Israeli Beresheet spacecraft on a region of the Moon called Sea of Serenity where it had crash-landed on April 11.
Spaceil attempted to land its spacecraft on top of a Spacex Falcon 9 rocket in the ancient volcanic field on the nearside of the Moon. After a smooth initial descent, Beresheet made a hard landing on the surface. AGENCIES