The Moon, that natural satellite that has fascinated humanity since time immemorial, keeps secrets that even today continue to be an enigma for scientists and astronomers. Despite the numerous missions and studies carried out, the hidden side of the moonwith its particularities and mysteries, continues to arouse deep interest in the international scientific community.
When the mission Chang’e-4 landed in the crater Von Karman On January 3, 2019, China became the first and only country to land on the far side of the Moon, the side that always faces away from the Earth.
Currently, China is sending another mission to the other side, and this time, its goal is to return the first samples of the “far side” of the Moon to Earth. The mission Chang’e-6released on Friday, will spend 53 days exploring the basin South Pole-Aitken to study its geology and topography, as well as to collect samples from different points of the crater.
The South Pole-Aitken Basin is believed to It is the largest and oldest crater on the Moonwhich covers almost a quarter of the lunar surface with a diameter that measures approximately 2,500 kilometers and has more than 8 kilometers deep.
Scientists hope that returning the samples to Earth will help answer lingering questions about the intriguing far side, which has not been studied as thoroughly as the near side, as well as confirm the moon’s origin to determine whether this zone differs. both visible from Earth and give clues to how current and future missions to unravel the secrets of its composition and formation, helping to resolve some of the most fundamental questions about our celestial companion.
During a budget hearing POT On April 17, Congressman David Trone he asked the manager of the POT, Bill Nelsonbecause China was sending a mission to the “back” of the Moon.
“They are going to have a lander on the hidden side of the moonwhich is the side that is always in the dark. We are not planning to go there”Nelson responded.
The far side of the Moon is sometimes known as the “dark side of the moon”, largely in reference to Pink Floyd’s 1973 album of the same name. But the phrase is a bit of a misnomer for a couple of reasons, according to experts.
Although the hidden side of the moon may seem dark from our perspective, experience a lunar day and one lunar night as does the near face, and receives a lot of lighting. A lunar day lasts just over 29 days, while the lunar night lasts about two weeks, according to the POT.
The same side always faces the Land because the Moon takes the same amount of time to complete one orbit around the Land and rotate around its axis: about 27 days. Besides, the hidden side of the moon has been more difficult to study, leading to the nickname “dark side” and created an air of mystery.
Several spaceshipsincluding the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter of the POT which constantly circles and takes images of the lunar surface, have helped shed light on the moon.
Yutu-2a lunar rover that Chang’e-4 launched in 2019, it also explored loose deposits of pulverized rock and dust that covered the crater floor Von Karmanlocated within the largest basin of the South Pole-Aitken.
But return the samples to the Land would allow the latest, most sensitive technology to analyze lunar rocks and dust, which could reveal how the moon formed. Moon and why your hidden face is so different from close face.
Despite years of orbital data and samples collected during six of the missions Apolloscientists are still trying to answer key questions about the Moon.
“The reason the far side is so compelling is because it is very different from the side of the moon we see, the near side.”said Noah Petroproject scientist POT both for him Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter as for Artemis IIIa mission that aims to bring humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972. “Throughout human history, humans have been able to look up and see the same surface, the same side of the Moon.”
But in 1959 the Soviet Union sent a probe to fly over the hidden side of the moon and captured the first images of it for humanity.
“We saw this hemisphere completely different: not covered with large volcanic lava flows, full of craters, a thicker crust. It just tells a different story than the near side,” Petro said.
The return of samples with robotic missions and the landing of humans near the transition between the two lunar regions at the south pole through the program Artemis, “it will help tell this more complete story of lunar history that we are missing right now”said.
Although scientists understand why one side of the moon always faces the Land, they don’t know why that particular side permanently faces our planet. But it could have something to do with the moon being asymmetrical, Malhotra said.
“There is some asymmetry between the side in front of us and the other side,” he added. “What exactly caused those asymmetries? What really are these asymmetries? We have little understanding of that. “That is a great scientific question.”
Chang’e-6 It’s just a mission that goes to the hidden side of the MoonSince the POT It also has plans to send robotic missions there.
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory planetary geologist Josh Denevi helped design a mission concept for a lunar rover called Endurancewhich will undertake a long journey through the basin of the South Pole-Aitken to collect data and samples before delivering them to landing sites Sagebrush near the lunar south pole. Astronauts can then study the samples and determine which ones should be returned to space. Land.
One of the most fundamental questions that scientists have tried to answer is how the moon. The prevailing theory is that some type of object had an impact with the Land at the beginning of its history, and a giant chunk that flew out of our planet formed the moon.
Scientists also want to know how the original crust of the moon. Volcanic flows created dark spots on the moonwhile the lighter parts of the surface represent the primordial crust of the moon.
“We believe that at one point the moon was completely molten, and it was this ocean of magma, and as it solidified, the minerals floated to the top of this ocean, and that is the lightest terrain that we can see today,” Denevi said. “Reaching the large expanses of pristine terrain on the other side is just one goal.”
Meanwhile, the study of impact craters littering the lunar surface provides a story of how things moved during the early days of the solar system at a critical point when life was beginning to form on Earth, Denevi said.
“As impacts occurred on the Moon, impacts occurred on Earth at the same time,” Petro said. “And so every time we look at these ancient events on the Moon, we’re also learning a little bit about what’s happening on Earth.”
Visiting the South Pole-Aitken basin could be the beginning of solving a multitude of lunar mysteries, Malhotra said. While researchers believe they have an idea of when the crater formed, perhaps between 4.3 and 4.4 billion years ago, collecting rock samples could provide a definitive age.
