Some time ago, Chinese lunar rover Yutu-2 spotted a mysterious substance on the Moon. The rover sent back home some pics with a weird, shiny material that it has identified on the far side of the Moon. The Chinese space agency did not release sharp photos of the material. Now, we finally have high-res images with the mysterious substance.
According to scientists, the shiny material is the result of an impact that melted the regolith (lunar soil). Now, we have clear photos with the mysterious substance, so researchers could see what’s all about.
“Chang’E-4 released an image of the purported “mysterious substance” on the lunar farside. After a bit of image manipulation, it’s pretty clear that the material is just different rocks,” said Dan Moriarty from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
What is the mysterious substance found on the Moon by Chinese rover?
“The shape of the fragments appears fairly similar to other materials in the area. What this tells us is that this material has a similar history as the surrounding material. I think the most reliable information here is that the material is relatively dark. It appears to have brighter material embedded within the larger, darker regions, although there is a chance that is light glinting off a smooth surface,” added Moriarty for Space.com.
Such a “mysterious substance” is common on the Moon. The Moon has no atmosphere, so meteorites frequently impact our natural satellite. Upon such collisions, the regolith heats up, melts, and then cools down, becoming like glass. Moriarty believes that the “substance” on the Moon is nothing else than a rock.
Accordingly, all the speculations that there might be a jelly-like substance on the far side of the Moon have been debunked. As it seems now, Yutu-2 Chinese rover only spotted a sort of a rock that resulted from an impact.
