Chinese scientists have discovered two new lunar minerals through research on samples retrieved by China’s Chang’e-5 mission, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced.
Of the two, Magnesiochangesite-(Y) is a magnesium-rich member related to China’s earlier discovery Changesite-(Y), while Changesite-(Ce) is a new lunar mineral species characterized by the cerium-dominance analogue of Changesite-(Y).
The discoveries bring the total number of lunar minerals identified by Chinese scientists to four. Worldwide, 11 lunar minerals have been discovered in both the return samples and lunar meteorites since the 1970s.
Chinese scientists behind the new findings were working with just milligrams of lunar soil samples.
Out of the hundreds of thousands of tiny grains on one epoxy mount, scientists singled out special grains that could hold evidence of a new mineral. The grains are only a few micrometers across, or about one-third to one-thirtieth the thickness of a human hair.
Scientists then zoom in with more precise tests, including chemical analysis, spectroscopy, and crystal structure determination.
