Find glass beads on the hidden part of the moon
2022/03/06 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
The Chinese mission Chang’E-4 is the first to address the hidden part of the moon. The Robotic Vehicle And? -2 stepped on the Moon on January 19, 2019 and has since been exploring the environment. Now Chinese astrophysicists announce that the vehicle has found transparent glass spheres. They announce it in Science Bulletin.
The article explains that glass spheres had previously been found on the moon. Their peculiarity is that they have a few centimeters in diameter and are transparent, light brown. In fact, most of the findings, all of them on the visible face of the moon, were millimetric and the largest opaque. It's been an unexpected discovery.
The vehicle Y•\}-2 has traveled 700 meters from the place where it was abandoned, confirming that it has found two pearls, about 3 cm, and assessing whether the images of two others are similar. Images are being studied to know their color, morphology, geometry and possible years of exposure.
According to the researchers, they are the result of a shock: The lunar cortex is mainly composed of a group mineral of feldspar, plagioclase. By crashing an object against the skin, the mineral would melt and by solidifying it would generate these spheres. They consider that the study of the spheres can help to better understand the chronology and dynamics of shocks.
They also suggest that if one day a base was built on the moon it could be a building material.