my country has become the third country to discover new minerals on the moon Humans have discovered six new minerals on the moon
Chang'e stone above the moon
Our reporter Duan Xiangyu
On September 9, the eve of the traditional Chinese festival Mid-Autumn Festival, the National Space Administration and the National Atomic Energy Agency jointly released the latest scientific achievements of Chang'e 5 in Beijing: Chinese scientists discovered a new mineral on the moon for the first time, and named it "Chang'e Stone".
"'Chang'e Stone', the name is so beautiful!" This "Mid-Autumn Festival gift" from the moon has made netizens praise the "hard-core" romance that belongs to the Chinese.
How was the "Chang'e Stone" discovered?
What is the significance of its discovery and naming?
What are the new developments in lunar sample research?
The reporter interviewed relevant units and researchers.
"Chang'e Stone" is the sixth new mineral discovered by humans on the moon, and China has become the third country to discover new minerals on the moon
It is understood that "Chang'e stone" is a phosphate mineral, which is columnar crystal and exists in lunar basalt particles.
The lunar sample research team of the Beijing Institute of Geology of the Nuclear Industry of China National Nuclear Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "China National Nuclear Corporation") separated a particle from the 140,000 lunar sample particles through a series of high-tech means such as X-ray diffraction. A single crystal particle with a diameter of about 10 microns was successfully deciphered.
Confirmed as a new mineral by voting by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) New Mineral Nomenclature and Classification Committee (CNMNC).
"The discovery of new minerals has provided more basic scientific data for the formation and evolution of the moon, and deepened human's understanding of the moon and the solar system." Dong Baotong, deputy director of the National Atomic Energy Agency, introduced that this mineral is the first new lunar mineral discovered in my country. It is also the sixth new mineral discovered by humans on the moon. my country has become the third country in the world to retrieve lunar samples and the third country to discover new lunar minerals, contributing to the peaceful utilization and cooperative development of space resources.
"Chang'e Stone", English Changesite-(Y), is the name carefully selected for it by the lunar sample research team of CNNC.
"First of all, this is a lunar sample to commemorate the first retrieval of my country's Chang'e project; then, it clarifies that the mineral comes from the place where the traditional Chinese myth 'Chang'E' (Chang'E) lived, that is, the moon; at the same time, it also shows that the mineral Taken from the landing site (site) of Chang'E 5 (Chang'E); finally, 'S' is the first letter at the beginning of both Chinese '石-Shi' and English '石-Stone', and is closer in pronunciation Chang'e Stone is well understood both domestically and internationally," said Li Ziying, the team leader.
Meng Hua, director of the Information and Propaganda Office of the National Space Administration and the National Atomic Energy Agency, said that "Chang'e Stone" was named after 35 lunar geographic entities such as "Guanghan Guan", "Weaving Girl" and "Hegu", and it is another Chinese lunar scientific exploration field. The moon-related name with cultural characteristics and recognized by the international community once again demonstrates the Chinese-style romance of the fusion of science and technology with culture and art.
Dividing samples, scanning and cutting, analyzing and deciphering, the discovery of "Chang'e Stone" stems from the persistence of the scientific research team and the reliable strength of my country's nuclear geological science
On December 17, 2020, Chang'e 5 returned to Earth with 1,731 grams of lunar samples.
In June 2021, the Chang'e 5 lunar samples will be open to the whole society for application.
With the approval of the application, the Institute of Nuclear and Earth Sciences of China National Nuclear Corporation has successively obtained 50 mg of lunar soil scientific research samples and 1 lunar sample light film, becoming one of the first units to carry out research on lunar samples from Chang'e 5.
The sampling process is the "most exciting and stressful" part of the lunar soil research.
"In the agreement we signed, the 50 mg of lunar soil scientific research samples can only be lost at most 20 mg." Huang Zhixin, the person in charge of the first batch of lunar samples at the Institute of Nuclear and Earth Sciences of China National Nuclear Corporation, introduced that every particle should be used to ensure extremely low samples. The amount of loss is the consensus of everyone on the team.
Dividing is carried out in an ultra-clean room, using a million-level balance, which can be accurate to 0.001 mg.
"Every time we weigh, we first evaluate it by eye, staring at the almost invisible 'black dots' in the sampling spoon, weighing it again and again, and estimating that it can't be too much before we dare to pour it into the sample tank. Each empty sample tank is weighed three times. Weigh it three times after placing the sample to ensure accurate weighing.”
Sampling is also a major feature of the experiment.
In the experiment, the lunar soil needs to be divided into 7 groups according to particle size and mineral type, operated under a microscope, using a nano-sampling needle with a needle smaller than 0.5 microns, and transferred the lunar soil one by one into a customized copper crucible according to the grouping rules. .
The applied lunar soil particles are conservatively calculated by density, and there are no less than 10,000 particles per 1 mg of sample, so the transfer process is repeated at least tens of thousands of times.
Scanning electron microscope repeatedly confirms and accurately locates the minerals to be separated and cut. The high-energy focused ion beam cuts obliquely from the surrounding of the minerals, and the bottom is obliquely "into the knife" to separate the target minerals from the surrounding surrounding rocks... Through the first batch of A systematic study of lunar soil scientific samples was carried out, and researchers finally found traces of new minerals and determined the chemical composition of the minerals.
After a series of painstaking work, the research team pinpointed the mineral's crystal structure and finally identified the new mineral.
"What allows us to seize this one in 140,000 chance?" In the eyes of researchers such as Li Ziying, adequate experimental technical preparation, solid professional ability and scientific research literacy are important reasons.
Since the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period, with the support of China National Atomic Energy Agency and China National Nuclear Corporation, the Institute of Nuclear and Earth Sciences of China National Nuclear Corporation has successively established high-precision analysis and testing laboratories, and the level of capability has been greatly improved.
"Looking at the achievements at this moment, it is closely related to the continuous exploration of more unknown innovative practices by nuclear geoscientists for more than half a century." Li Ziying said.
Deepen the research on lunar samples, provide important support for the genesis, evolution and deep space scientific exploration of the moon, and drive a series of related scientific and technological progress
Lunar sample research is a typical frontier basic scientific research, which will promote a series of related scientific and technological progress.
Wang Xuejun, member of the Party Group and Chief Accountant of China National Nuclear Corporation, introduced that the discovery of "Chang'e Stone" is a major breakthrough in the field of basic mineralogy research. The development of the moon will provide new important support for the genesis, evolution and deep space scientific exploration of the moon.
While discovering the "Chang'e Stone", the research team also accurately measured the content of helium-3, a potential future nuclear fusion resource in the Chang'e 5 lunar sample, for the first time, and determined the optimal extraction temperature.
This provides basic scientific data for the remote sensing prediction and total resource estimation of my country's subsequent lunar helium-3 resources, as well as the future development and economic evaluation of helium-3 resources.
In addition, the typical morphological characteristics of lunar soil particles were systematically studied and obtained, which also provided a scientific basis for studying the formation of lunar soil.
According to reports, the National Space Administration has completed the distribution of 152 lunar samples in four batches totaling 53,625.7 mg, and 98 applicants from 33 scientific research units have passed the application.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Natural Resources, China National Nuclear Corporation and other units have been approved to undertake lunar sample research work, and foreign scientists and students have also participated in the joint research.
Liu Jizhong, deputy commander of the lunar exploration project and director of the Lunar Exploration and Aerospace Engineering Center, introduced that all scientific research teams have actively carried out research work and achieved remarkable results.
At present, he has published 23 articles in famous academic journals at home and abroad, and applied for 1 patent.
The recently released results mainly include magma differentiation, space weathering, helium-3 gas and bioenergy conversion, etc., which are helpful for understanding the origin and evolution of the moon, exploring the effective use of lunar resources, and realizing "zero energy" extraterrestrial environment and life. The support system has important implications.
"At present, research on lunar scientific research samples is still in progress. The fifth batch of sample applications has been reviewed and will be released in accordance with the procedures. With the gradual deepening of sample research, we expect that there will be new and greater achievements." Liu Jizhong Say.