The formation of the Moon was marked by different periods. One of them was distinguished by its ocean of burning lava
The Moon keeps many secrets about its origin. However, little by little, we have discovered more, such as knowing what is under its lunar mantle or even discovering how surprising it is that it has a tenuous atmosphere whose origin is quite unexpected. In this situation, it turns out that, during the period of formation of the Moon, it could have State covered in gigantic oceans of burning lava. Something that clearly attracts attention.
lava seas
India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission has provided data that supports a theory that has clearly excited many astronomy enthusiasts about the moon’s past: the existence of an ancient ocean of molten rock that covered its surface. The discovery is based on observations made by the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover in the southernmost region of the moon, an area that has never been explored and this gives us really relevant details. So, according to the excellent scientific dissemination medium that is the The conversationThis can be very interesting to understand the geological past of our satellite.
Pragyan’s analysis of the lunar soil regoliths revealed a surprisingly uniform chemical composition, dominated by a material known as ferroan anorthosite. The existence of some geochemical uniformity led scientists to believe that there was a fairly uniform magma ocean on the moon’s surface.
According to this theory, the Moon formed after a Mars-sized planet collided with the early Earth, the remains taking the shape we know of the Moon, but first passing through certain stages such as the magma ocean. The resulting magma ocean would have persisted for millions of years after of the formation of our satellite and contributing to making its crust so homogeneous.
The measurements from the probe and the rover are very consistent with data from previous orbital missions, making them very reliable information. They also provide a valuable reference for interpreting lunar meteorites found on Earth. However, the observed composition contains more magnesium than expected for pure ferroan anorthosite. This led the researchers to speculate that there may be mixing between the materials with the underlying layers richer in magnesium, largely due to the constant meteorite impacts on the Moon that formed the latter. craters that we know so well and sometimes you can see this with the naked eye.
The study helped to learn more about the formation of the lunar crust. Thus, the Chandrayaan-3 mission has become a technological milestone for the country that launched it, India, but at the same time it helps us as a species to better understand everything around us, including something as important as our satellite. lunar exploration is still very important even if we know it better each time.
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