Natural fiberglass was found in the chang'e-5 lunar soil
Science and Technology Daily Beijing, May 5 (Reporter Lu Chengkuan) There is also glass on the moon! On the 7th, the reporter learned from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that through systematic material scientific research on the Chang'e-7 lunar soil sample, Chinese researchers discovered a variety of types of lunar glass materials with different origins. What's more, they also found natural fiberglass for the first time in the Chang'e-<> lunar soil. The findings were published online in the National Science Review.
When we think of glass, we usually think of beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows, colorful glass crafts, and electronic screens everywhere. In fact, glass is not only an important man-made material, but also a common natural substance in nature. Even on the desolate and barren surface of the moon, there is still abundant glass material produced by volcanic eruptions, geological movements, meteorite impacts, and other activities.
Many of the moon's glass can be stable for hundreds of millions of years. Lunar glass is an important material for exploring the mysteries of the moon, not only preserving ancient lunar material, but also recording environmental information when it was formed. "The Chang'e-5 lunar soil sample provides an excellent opportunity to reveal the origin and evolution of the moon, understand the lunar surface and space environment, promote the in-situ utilization of lunar resources, and also provide valuable samples for the study of extraterrestrial glass substances." Bai Haiyang, a researcher at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.
This time, the researchers comprehensively analyzed the morphology, composition, microstructure and formation mechanism of glass substances in the Chang'e-5 lunar soil sample. They found that there are glass origins in solid, liquid and gas transition paths on the lunar surface. The frequent meteorite and micrometeorite impacts on the lunar surface cause the melting and rapid cooling of minerals, resulting in various forms of glass materials, including spherical, ellipsoidal, dumbbell-shaped and other rotating glass beads, stomatal cements, fluid sputters, etc.
"These impact origin glass materials record multi-scale impact events from thousands of meters to nanometers on the lunar surface, and the morphology of the relevant solidified glass depends on the viscosity of the glass-forming liquid dominated by the impact temperature, which can reverse the impact strength of meteorites, which is of great significance for understanding the formation and evolution of lunar soil." Dr. Zhao Rui, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced.
Of particular interest is the discovery of natural fiberglass for the first time in the Chang'e-5 lunar soil. These glass fibers with an ultra-high aspect ratio are derived from thermoplastic molding of viscous liquids during impact. Compared to glass beads with a low aspect ratio, the liquid viscosity of these glass fibers is higher, which means that the corresponding impact temperature and impact rate are lower. This reflects milder microimpact events on the lunar surface.
At the same time, "these natural glass fibers prove that the lunar soil has good glass forming ability and excellent processing and molding characteristics, and affirms the feasibility of using lunar soil processing to produce glass building materials from the lunar surface in situ, which will provide important support for the construction of the future lunar base." Shen Laiquan, an associate researcher at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.