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The Chinese space program kicked off the year in force by making a soft landing on the other side of the moon. It was a first for the country and for humanity as a whole. Even if the Yutu-2 rover, the landing gear delivered to the lunar surface was not as feature-rich as the robots that NASA sends to Mars, it still produced some interesting results. .
Now, as Space.com reports, the researchers revealed a particularly bizarre and fully anticipated discovery made possible by the rover. The robot apparently fell on a tiny crater containing a material of unusual color and consistency. The material, described as "gel-like", is now forcing scientists to explain its origin.
Chinese researchers have described this discovery in an article published on the site in Chinese language Our space, discovered the strange material almost by accident.
The Yutu-2 rover was due to go out for the lunar night at the end of July, but as the team prepared for the extended stoppage, an image of the robot caught their eye. A small neighboring crater was surrounded by a strange substance that did not correspond to the powdery and pale powder that covers most of the lunar surface.
Delaying the "nap" of the rover, the scientists decided to investigate further. After scanning it with the optical and near-infrared spectrometer of the rover, the team had to scratch their heads. According to the report, the material is of the "frozen" type and of a color that is not normally seen in the material of the lunar surface.
Nobody has a definitive answer as to what the substance might be, but there are plausible explanations, such as the material melting glass drops produced by a small body impact on the surface.
The Yutu-2 rover has just restarted for its ninth lunar day. It will be interesting if he can discover other clues about this strange material or if the Chinese explorer Moon will leave us perplexed.
Source of the image: Our space
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