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Scientists found a magnetic mineral never before seen naturally in Moon samples; Chang’e-6 brought the material back from the lunar surface, where it survived inside tiny impact-glass particles

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Scientists found a magnetic mineral never before seen naturally in Moon samples; Chang’e-6 brought the material back from the lunar surface, where it survived inside tiny impact-glass particles

About 4.25 billion years ago, the Moon possessed a powerful core dynamo with a field strength comparable to or even exceeding modern Earth’s. This magnetic field, generated by circulating molten metal, completely shut down as the interior cooled and core crystallisation ceased, leaving the Moon without a global magnetic field in the present. While it … Read more

Chang’e-6 soil from the Moon’s far side contained a form of metallic iron never seen before in natural lunar samples; trapped in tiny impact-glass grains, it may preserve a record of the Moon’s lost magnetic field

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Chang’e-6 soil from the Moon’s far side contained a form of metallic iron never seen before in natural lunar samples; trapped in tiny impact-glass grains, it may preserve a record of the Moon’s lost magnetic field

Representative Image (AI-generated) A study of soil brought back from the Moon’s far side by China’s Chang’e-6 mission has uncovered a form of metallic iron never before found in natural lunar samples. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported the discovery after examining tiny particles preserved inside impact glass collected by the mission. The … Read more