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Using data collected by Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2, scientists found that the rocks beneath an ancient extinct volcano on the far side of the moon are still strangely emitting heat.

(by Chen Qiang / tr. by Robert Taylor)

It sounds like the plot of a science fiction movie: scientists detect strange sources of heat from the far side of the moon, leading to the discovery of something buried beneath the moon's surface, which will fundamentally reshape our understanding of the moon.

But what is mentioned above is not science fiction, but the latest scientific discoveries. The discovery is due to two Chinese lunar probes, Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2.

The strange heat sources on the far side of the moon, Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2, carry microwave instruments, which are common on many Earth-orbiting meteorological satellites, but rare on lunar probes. Because the lunar soil can act as a poor conductor of heat, inhibiting large temperature changes between day and night, the microwaves generated by the moon largely reflect the thermal activity below the lunar surface. In this way, the microwave data of Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2 provide a new perspective for observing the moon.

On the far side of the moon, near the North Pole, China's lunar probe found an anomaly. They detected a giant source of heat that was about 10 degrees Celsius higher than the surrounding average.

This area is now known as the Compton-Berkovich (Compton-Belkovich) complex volcanic area. In the late 1990s, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States noticed that this area produced additional gamma rays. Scientists believe that there is a large amount of radioactive element thorium, and gamma rays are mainly produced by the decay of thorium. In 2009, using high-resolution images collected by the US Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), scientists found that the area was probably a long-dead volcano, which last erupted more than 300 million years ago.

Now, scientists from the American Institute of Planetary Science have analyzed the data of Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2, and they are surprised by the results. They found that the heat source was located below the surface of the moon, with a range of about 50 kilometers wide. The only thing scientists can think of to generate so much heat is a large area of granite rock mass. These granites are rich in radioactive elements such as thorium, which generate heat when they decay.

But there is a problem. Such a large granite rock mass does not seem to be on the moon.

The granite rock mass that should not exist granite is a kind of magmatic rock formed by the slow cooling of silica-rich magma that has not been erupted by volcanoes. Granite is common on Earth, but it is extremely rare in other parts of the solar system because it requires specific conditions to form.

These conditions include plate tectonics and a large amount of liquid water. Among them, plate tectonics helps to melt and recover materials from the earth's crust, while liquid water helps to form magma rich in silica.

If there is no liquid water, extreme heat is needed to form magma rich in silica. But this part of the moon, which has no liquid water or plate tectonics, has granite. So, how did these granites come into being?

Scientists are not yet able to give a reasonable explanation. Perhaps there may be some other granite formation mechanism on the moon. Scientists hope that future lunar probes or lunar rovers will be able to explore the area further, which will help solve the mystery.

References:

Https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06183-5

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