Soil From the Moon's Far Side Suggests Drier Conditions Than the Side Facing Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Soil and rocks returned from the moon’s mysterious far side suggest it may be drier than the side constantly facing Earth, Chinese scientists reported Wednesday.
But they cautioned more samples are needed for a clearer picture.
A better understanding of the abundance of water in the lunar mantle can help explain how the moon evolved, the researchers noted. But it could also be all the more reason for astronauts to stick close to the near side of the moon as currently planned.
China became the first country to land on the moon’s far side last year. The Chang’e 6 spacecraft scooped up the volcanic rock and dirt from the ancient, sprawling South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the largest impact craters in the solar system.
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The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Sen Hu said he and his team received 5 grams of soil samples, then selected 578 particles for detailed analysis using electron microscopes.
They estimated the water abundance at less than 1.5 micrograms per gram, on the dry end of what’s been found in samples gathered over past decades from the moon’s near side. Measurements on samples from the near side have ranged between 1 microgram and 200 micrograms per gram.
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