Lunar Mantle May Have Been Remelted, Say Chinese Scientists

The Moon’s mantle may have been remelted by an ancient asteroid impact. This is the conclusion reached by a team of Chinese scientists after studying samples brought back by the Chang’e-6 mission, TASS reports with reference to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The samples — collected from the far side of the Moon near its south pole — contained material not typically associated with the Moon’s mantle. “This suggests that the rocks forming the ancient mantle either originally contained very little of this material or were remelted as a result of the asteroid impact that created the Moon’s largest known crater,” the Academy explained.