Strange ‘shiny gel’ found on ‘dark side of the Moon’ by Chinese probe – and space scientists are baffled
CHINA'S lunar rover has found a mysterious 'gel-like' substance on the far side of the Moon.
The Yutu-2 rover made the discovery when it rolled over a 'sticky' area at the bottom of a crater that was made from a recent impact.
The agency hasn't revealed what this Moon jelly might be, leading other scientists to speculate.
According to the material could actually be glass created from the heat of whatever crashed into the Moon to leave the crater.
The discovery of the shiny substance was actually made back in July but the Chinese Space Agency hasn't released any photos yet.
The 'gel' was said to stand out because it was different in shape, colour and texture to the rest of the crater.
Yutu-2, also referred to as the Jade Rabbit 2, examined the crater with its Visible and Near-Infrared Spectrometer (VNIS).
This technology is able to determine the chemical composition of a substance by analysing the light that reflects from its surfaces.
It won't be able to tell for sure if the substance is a squishy gel or hardened molten though so further analysis is still needed.
Yutu-2 is still exploring the dark side of the Moon for new discoveries.
It was released on the Moon back in January when China's Chang’e 4 lander reached the "dark side" of the lunar surface.
It is popularly called the “dark side” because it can’t be seen from Earth and is relatively unknown, not because it lacks sunlight.
The Moon – our closest neighbour explained
Here's what you need to know...
- The Moon is a natural satellite – a space-faring body that orbits a planet
- It's Earth's only natural satellite, and is the fifth biggest in the Solar System
- The Moon measures 2,158 miles across, roughly 0.27 times the diameter of Earth
- Temperatures on the Moon range from minus 173 degrees Celcius to 260 degrees Celcius
- Experts assumed the Moon was another planet, until Nicolaus Copernicus outlined his theory about our Solar System in 1543
- It was eventually assigned to a "class" after Galileo discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610
- The Moon is believed to have formed around 4.51billion years ago
- The strength of its gravitational field is about a sixth of Earth's gravity
- Earth and the Moon have "synchronous rotation", which means we always see the same side of the Moon – hence the phrase "dark side of the Moon"
- The Moon's surface is actually dark, but appears bright in the sky due to its reflective ground
- During a solar eclipse, the Moon covers the Sun almost completely. Both objects appear a similar size in the sky because the Sun is both 400 times larger and farther
- The first spacecraft to reach the Moon was in 1959, as part of the Soviet Union's Lunar program
- The first manned orbital mission was Nasa's Apollo 8 in 1968
- And the first manned lunar landing was in 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission
In other news, a bonkers lift from Earth to the Moon has been proposed by scientists in a mad bid to cut the cost of space travel.
Nasa's chief wants Pluto to be classified as a planet again.
And, an Earth-sized rocky planet has been found orbiting a nearby star – and there is a chance it could be habitable.
What do you think of this Moon gel discovery? Let us know in the comments!
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