Chang'e-6 Samples Confirm Lunar Magma Ocean Hypothesis (2024)

Lunar samples from the Chang'e-6 mission, the first ever collected from the far side of the Moon, support the global magma ocean hypothesis. The mission retrieved 1,935.3 grams of lunar material from the Apollo Basin within the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin in 2024. Analysis of two grams of these samples revealed that the basalt composition on both the far and near sides of the Moon is similar. The basalt in the Chang'e-6 samples is approximately 2.823 billion years old, supporting the lunar magma ocean model. This model suggests the early Moon experienced a global melting event, forming a magma ocean. As it cooled, less dense minerals formed the crust, while denser minerals formed the mantle. The remaining melt formed the KREEP layer, enriched with potassium, rare earth elements, and phosphorus. The SPA Basin, a 2,500 km wide and 13 km deep impact crater formed 4.3 billion years ago, may have altered the Moon's early mantle.