Indian scientists have presented the results of the analysis of lunar regolith performed by the Chandrayaan-3 mission. It revealed traces of the existence of an ancient magma ocean.
Chandrayaan-3 landed in the southern circumpolar region of the Moon in August last year. The mission consisted of the Vikram landing platform and the 26-kilogram Pragyan lunar rover. While Pragyan operated for one lunar day, Vikram is still functioning and transmitting data.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently released a photo archive of the mission. The results of the lunar soil analysis performed by Pragyan were also presented. Rover studied it with an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer to learn about the chemical elements it contained.
In total, Pragyan made 23 measurements. All the regolith samples it studied consisted mainly of ferroan anorthosite. Data collected by previous missions suggest that regolith in other regions of the Moon, such as the equator and mid-latitudes, is composed of approximately the same mineral.
This homogeneity supports the theory that in the early stages the lunar surface was an ocean of molten magma, a direct consequence of the way it was formed. The Moon is thought to have been born from a colossal collision involving the Earth and the protoplanet Theia. It generated a huge amount of debris from which the Moon was later formed.
The large amount of energy in the formation of the moon had to be dissipated. It is believed to have been released in the form of heat, and as a result, the surface of the young moon melted, becoming an ocean of magma. Dense basic rocks, rich in metals such as magnesium, have sunk into its interior.
Earlier we told you about how scientists were able to determine the internal structure of the moon.
According to Phys.org
