Chinese scientists have discovered a new mineral on the Moon, named Changesite-(Y), which could be a source of unlimited energy in the future. The phosphate mineral is a colorless transparent crystal that was discovered in lunar basalt particles located in the northwest region of Oceanus Procellarum.
From the sample, scientists isolated a single crystal particle with a radius of about 10 microns using a nanosampling needle with a tip smaller than 0.5 microns, repeating the action tens of thousands of times for two months. High-tech methods like X-ray diffraction were used to understand its crystal structure, allowing the separation of the particle from the 140,000 lunar sample particles.
This is the sixth new mineral discovered by humanity on the moon, making China the third country, alongside the US and the former Soviet Union, to achieve this feat. The site where the Chinese mission retrieved samples is about 1 billion years younger than where the US and the former Soviet Union retrieved theirs.
The newly discovered mineral is significant in understanding the origin and evolution of the moon. In 2020, China’s Chang’e-5 mission retrieved samples from the Moon, weighing about 1,731 grams, marking the first lunar samples in the world in over 40 years.
China plans 3 missions to the Moon after discovering the mineral that could act as fusion fuel of the future. The recent announcement raises the competition between the US and China over the moon’s resources and sites.
