Scientists from Shandong University, the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan University reported in their research published in the journal Science Advances that they found microscale hematite (α-Fe2O3) and magemite crystals in rock and soil samples collected by the robotic rover Chang'i 6 from the Moon's South Pole-Aitken Basin.
The researchers said that the crystals in question were formed not by the interaction of iron and oxygen, as is common on Earth, but by the contact of iron sulfide in meteorites with the volatile oxygen environment created by the impact effect.
Scientists pointed out that the existence of these crystals with magnetic effects will contribute to understanding the magnetic anomalies in this polar region of the Moon, emphasizing that they provide a scientific basis for lunar studies.
Chinese scientists had previously discovered carbon chondrite elements in samples collected by the Chang'i 6 rover, which are found in meteorites rich in water and organic material and apparently come from outside the solar system.
China launched the Chang'i 6 rover into space on May 3, 2024, with the aim of collecting rock and soil samples from the dark side of the moon. The rover landed in the Apollo dish in the Moon's south pole-Aitken dish on June 2, 2024 and returned to Earth with the collected samples on June 25, 2024.
With the Zhang-6 mission, China became the first country to collect samples from the moon's dark surface.
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