Researchers from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have achieved a remarkable scientific achievement in understanding the history of the Moon, as they were able to envision the possibility of building a unified global time system for the surface of the Moon. This progress opens new horizons for a more precise understanding of the evolution of celestial bodies in the solar system.
The study, published in the journal Science Advances, showed a remarkable agreement in the rates of crater formation resulting from the collision of celestial bodies between the near and far sides of the Moon. This discovery undermines previous hypotheses that indicated the presence of large differences, and confirms the existence of a uniform collision effect that affected the entire moon over billions of years.
The researchers based their results on an in-depth analysis of remote sensing images, in addition to comparing them with unique samples brought back by the Chang’e-6 mission from the dark side of the Moon in June 2024. The analysis included a study of modern basalt rocks (which are 2.8 billion years old) and ancient norite rocks (which are 4.25 billion years old), and this data was combined with historical information from the American “Apollo” and Soviet “Luna” missions.
Yue Zongyu, the lead researcher in the study, confirmed that this achievement represents a strong database for establishing a comprehensive and unified chronology of the Moon. The importance of this system is not limited to studying the Moon, but it represents a very important scientific reference for reconstructing the history of early collisions and the evolution of the surfaces of other planets, which contributes to enhancing our understanding of the history of the Solar System and its geological formation.
