Chinese scientists have found signs of iron rust caused by meteorite impacts in rock and soil samples collected by the Chang'e-6 rover from the Moon's far side. Researchers from Shandong University, the Institute of Geochemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Yunnan University reported in Science Advances that the Chang'e-6 rover discovered micro-scale hematite (α-Fe2O3) and maghemite crystals in samples from the Moon's South Pole–Aitken Basin.
The scientists noted that these crystals formed not through the usual iron-oxygen reaction seen on Earth, but via interaction with volatile oxygen produced by iron sulfide in the impacting meteorites.
The presence of these magnetically active crystals may help explain magnetic anomalies in the Moon's polar regions, providing a scientific foundation for future lunar studies.
Previously, Chinese researchers also identified carbonaceous chondrite elements—rich in water and organic materials from beyond the Solar System—in Chang'e-6 samples.
China launched the Chang'e-6 mission on May 3, 2024, aiming to collect rock and soil from the Moon's far side. The rover landed in the Apollo Crater within the South Pole–Aitken Basin on June 2, 2024, and returned to Earth with the samples on June 25, 2024.
With this mission, China became the first country to collect samples from the Moon's far side .
