When Chang'e flew to the moon, she actually took away a "Changbai Mountain"? !

At 6:23 on June 2, 2024, the Chang'e-6 lander and ascender combination, supported by the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, gracefully landed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin (pre-selected landing area) on the far side of the moon, demonstrating to the world the superior strength and breakthrough capabilities of China's aerospace industry! The main tasks of Chang'e-6 this time include: searching for new minerals, searching for deep lunar materials, searching for ancient minerals, studying sullite, searching for nominal hydrous minerals, searching for high-pressure minerals, etc., opening the first human "digging soil specialties" journey on the far side of the moon.

According to the naming convention of the IAU (International Astronomical Union), the naming rules for impact craters and impact basins on the lunar surface mainly include the names of deceased celebrities (such as Zhang Heng, Cai Lun, Shen Kuo, Zu Chongzhi, Xu Guangqi, etc.), or common names (such as Chang'e, Jingde, Song Mei, etc.), or canyons and mountains on Earth (such as Mount Tai, Mount Heng, Mount Hua, etc.). There are currently 35 place names on the moon named after Chinese elements. In addition to the names independently applied for by my country, there are also some names applied for by other countries, most of which are named after ancient Chinese scientists and mythological figures.

Image of the far side of the moon taken by Chang'e 6 (from the National Space Administration)

From the above picture, we can clearly see a large lunar crater (a circular pit structure on the lunar surface) and a relatively small lunar crater, which are very conspicuous and arranged next to each other. This is very similar to the spatial distribution relative position, plane distribution shape, and plane outline of the crater of a typical volcano of the Changbai Mountain Volcanic Group and the Longgang Volcanic Group on the earth! More importantly, the Changbai Mountain volcanic area in a broad sense refers to the distribution area of ​​the Changbai Mountain Volcanic Group and the Longgang Volcanic Group. In addition, the Changbai Mountain Volcanic Group and the Longgang Volcanic Group are distributed over a large area with basalt, basaltic lava, and basaltic pyroclastic rocks, and the lunar surface is also covered by a basaltic lava layer, both of which belong to the basaltic volcanic rock category. Therefore, when Chang'e flew to the moon, she actually took away a "Changbai Mountain"! .

There are two popular explanations for these craters: one is that they were formed by meteorites hitting the moon, and the other is that they were formed by volcanic eruptions. A large amount of research data shows that both methods can form craters (or craters), but more than 80% of the craters are formed by the impact of meteorites hitting the moon, and less than 20% of the craters may be formed by lunar volcanic eruptions.

The relative positions of the Changbai Mountain volcanic group and the Longgang volcanic group and the aerial photo of the typical craters (from the Internet)

Cross-border science popularization and topic extension:

Through analysis and research of the lunar soil samples from Chang'e-5, Chinese researchers found that the moon erupted hot magma 2 billion years ago, which "extended" the known geological life of the moon by 800 million to 900 million years. Based on the lunar soil samples from Chang'e-5, Chinese researchers conducted research on the scale of lunar volcanic eruptions and believed that the intensity of lunar volcanic eruptions did not decrease continuously from the early to the late period as imagined, but decreased in stages. In addition, the intensity of volcanic activity was still very high about 2 billion years ago, indicating that volcanic activity once existed on the moon.

Earthquakes also occur on the moon (moonquakes). There are many reasons for earthquakes on the moon, which can be divided into four categories: (1) earthquakes caused by the tidal force exerted on the moon by the gravity of the sun and the earth (tidal earthquakes); (2) earthquakes caused by the cooling and contraction of the moon itself (thermal contraction earthquakes/deep source earthquakes); (3) earthquakes caused by meteorite impacts (impact earthquakes); (4) earthquakes caused by human activities (artificial earthquakes). From a large number of high-resolution images of the moon, it can be seen that there are countless meteorite impact craters of varying sizes on the surface of the moon. It can be preliminarily judged that moonquakes are relatively frequent. Similarly, impact earthquakes can also be seen on Earth. For example, in the early morning of December 23, 2020, a huge meteorite with dazzling light streaked across the sky and fell in the area from south of Nangqian County, Yushu, Qinghai to Nagqu, Tibet, triggering an impact earthquake, and the China Earthquake Networks Center recorded the seismic waves.

China Earthquake Networks Center Rapid Report (This image is from December 23, 2020)

Finally, let us relive this great and classic moment for all mankind! The lights are on, the stars are glittering, and when we look up at the bright stars in the universe, China is like a distant star. The five-star red flag is unfurled on the Chang'e-6 probe that landed on the far side of the moon. The bright five-star red flag shines throughout the universe again. This is the first time that China has independently and dynamically displayed its national flag on the far side of the moon.

Chang'e-6 unfolds the national flag on the back of the moon (Photo courtesy of the National Space Administration)

This issue of science popularization ends! Friends, see you next time!

References in this issue:

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Authors of this issue: Ye Xiqing, Sun Liying, Francesco L, Paul J, Matteo S

Planning: Xu Zhitao, Eugenio N Francesco R Ventura G Sveva R M

Editor: Song Yujia, Li Mengmeng, Gu Guohui

Review: Pan Xiaodong, Kang Jianhong, Chen Junjie, Lu Yanhong, Chen Bo, Li Zhongwei, Pang Jingyuan

Publicity: Zhu Daqing, Guan Sheng, Ma Fei, Liu Hongyan, Li Yihong, Han Di, Yu Chang, Cao Rongji, Li Shanshan

Produced by: Institute of Volcanology, China Earthquake Administration, Jilin Province Earthquake Administration, Vesuvius Observatory, Naples, Italy, Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Italy, University of Lyon 1 (Natural Sciences), School of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Jilin Province Earthquake Risk Prevention and Control Center, Jilin Seismological Station

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts in this article are for public benefit and do not have any commercial value.