1.97 billion-year-old Moon rocks found to be youngest lunar material: Study

A recent study revealed that around 1.97 billion years ago, lava used to flow on the Moon's surface and there are rocks to back up this assertion. The study, published in the journal 'Science' was conducted by an international team of scientists including an expert from Washington University. Samples retrieved from the Moon by the Chinese National Space Agency during the Chang'e-5 mission were studied by researchers from China, Australia, Sweden, and the United States. Chang'e-5, an unmanned mission with a robotic lander, was launched last year in December which landed on the Moon's near side (the Earth-facing side). The spacecraft returned to Earth with 1.7 kg (3.7 pounds) of lunar pebbles. These were the first lunar samples collected since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 mission in 1976. 

One of the goals of the Chang'e-5 mission was to look for evidence of some of the Moon's most recent volcanic eruptions. Although scientists have previously been able to predict the age of volcanic materials on the Moon by looking at the number of impact craters on the lunar surface, it was impossible to validate this without samples, the findings noted.  The materials were analysed using the sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe device at the SHRIMP Center in China. The researchers used a concentrated beam of charged particles to eject material from distinct mineral phases in the rocks and examined the expelled material to determine the age of the rocks. Their efforts were rewarded when they were able to calculate an eruption age of 1.97 billion years for these lavas, a billion years younger than any other basaltic lava from the Moon ever dated, stated the findings. 

Many many volcanic eruptions occurred on the moon's surface

Throughout the Moon's geological history, many volcanic eruptions have occurred on its surface, generating huge sheets of basaltic rock known as the lunar mare. These are dark areas that are looking up at the Moon. However, the majority of volcanic activity took place between 3 and 4 billion years ago. Basalts from the Apollo and Luna rock collections, as well as meteorites from the Moon, have all been dated by planetary scientists. According to researchers, younger volcanic materials, as indicated by crater counting research, had remained elusive until now. It should be mentioned here that the moon is nearly as old as the Earth as a planetary body but unlike the Earth, the moon lacks the erosive and mountain-building processes that tend to remove craters over time. 

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