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China's Lunar Rover Finds a Strange Substance on the Moon
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Michael Watson Send message Joined: 7 Feb 08 Posts: 1387 Credit: 2,098,506 RAC: 5 |
China's Chang'e-4 mission rover, called Yutu-2, has discovered a strange substance in a small crater on the Moon. It is described as having an unusual color and sheen, unlike other Lunar materials, and as appearing 'gel-like'. The rover was moved in and examined the substance with its spectrograph. No word, yet on what this analysis revealed. It has been suggested by others that lunar material might have been fused into a glassy substance by a meteorite impact. It should be interesting to learn what this substance actually is. Please find a link to an article with further details, below: https://www.space.com/china-far-side-moon-rover-strange-substance.html |
Michael Watson Send message Joined: 7 Feb 08 Posts: 1387 Credit: 2,098,506 RAC: 5 |
The reason why the strange material found on the far side of the Moon was described as gel-like, rather than as glassy is not altogether clear. Perhaps the material was transparent, as gels often are, or of a color not expected to be seen in natural glass created by a meteorite impact. Natural meteoric glass-- moldavites and Libyan desert glass-- are typically green or yellow-green in color, and not transparent. |
Ernst Send message Joined: 6 Jul 19 Posts: 169 Credit: 262,003 RAC: 0 |
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/change4-moon-mystery-substance/ China’s Chang’e 4 mission is currently exploring one of the lesser-known areas of the moon — the far side, which faces away from Earth. Previously it found minerals which may have come from deep beneath the lunar surface, and now it has found something even stranger: An oddly-colored “gel-like†substance of unknown origin. á´¡á´‡ ᴅᴀʀᴇsá´€Ê á´€Ê™á´á´œá´› ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀsá´› ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪᴛ ɪs ғɪɴɪᴛᴇ Êᴇᴛ á´¡á´‡ ᴅᴀʀᴇ É´á´á´› ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ ɪs. |
rob smith Send message Joined: 7 Mar 03 Posts: 22526 Credit: 416,307,556 RAC: 380 |
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/change4-moon-mystery-substance/ Clickified your link. Fascinating, the description implies both colour and texture are "novel" on the moon. Bob Smith Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society) Somewhere in the (un)known Universe? |
Ernst Send message Joined: 6 Jul 19 Posts: 169 Credit: 262,003 RAC: 0 |
My first thought was "Oh No! They found The Blob!" Blob as in the 1958 horror movie. á´¡á´‡ ᴅᴀʀᴇsá´€Ê á´€Ê™á´á´œá´› ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀsá´› ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪᴛ ɪs ғɪɴɪᴛᴇ Êᴇᴛ á´¡á´‡ ᴅᴀʀᴇ É´á´á´› ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ ɪs. |
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