"6th in Human History"... This Mineral China Brought from the Moon

Recent Chinese scientists have discovered a mineral called Chang'e Stone on the moon through the unmanned lunar probe Chang'e 5. Expected model of Chang'e Stone [Photo by Weibo capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Chinese scientists have unveiled a new mineral discovered through lunar exploration.

According to recent reports from the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) jointly announced on the 9th the minerals collected by the unmanned lunar probe Chang'e 5 from the Moon.

The mineral discovered through the study of lunar rock samples is known to be a colorless and transparent prismatic crystal. This is the first mineral discovered by China on the Moon and the sixth mineral discovered by humanity on the Moon.

Previously, China began full-scale lunar exploration with the Chang'e program starting in 2003. Following the creation of a 3D map of the lunar surface with Chang'e 1 in 2007, Chang'e 2 produced a high-resolution 3D map and successfully conducted communication experiments in 2010. After lunar landing explorations in 2013 and 2018, Chang'e 5 was launched in 2020 to collect lunar samples, and related research is currently underway.

According to the media, the new mineral's Chinese name was derived from the name of the probe that collected the sample, called 'Chang'e-seok,' and its English name was designated as 'Changeite.' It is also reported that this mineral has received official approval from the International Mineralogical Association's New Minerals Nomenclature Committee.

With this, Dong Baotong, Deputy Director of CAEA, stated that China has become the third country, after the United States and the former Soviet Union, to discover a new mineral on the Moon.

Meanwhile, China plans to send Chang'e 6 to the permanently shadowed region of the lunar south pole on the far side of the Moon in 2024 to confirm the presence of ice, collect samples, and return them to Earth. In this regard, the United States has expressed concerns that China's space rise policy, including lunar exploration, has military objectives.