• The natural satellite is believed to have gone through a phase when it was composed of molten rock
• Scientists have said they could be a step closer to solving the riddle behind the Moon’s formation, unveiling the most detailed survey yet of the far side of Earth’s satellite.

BACKGROUND:

• In January, the Chinese spacecraft Change-4 named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology became the first ever craft to touch down on the far side of the lunar surface.
• The moon is believed to have gone through a phase during its formation when it was partially or entirely composed of molten rock.
• As it cooled, denser minerals sank to the bottom of the magma-ocean, while lighter materials gathered near the surface to form its mantle.
• The team landed its probe in the Von Karmen Crater in the Aitken Basin at the Moon’s south pole home to one of the largest impact craters known in the solar system.
• They detected materials such as olivine and low-calcium pyroxene that are rare elsewhere on the surface. Authors of the study, which was published in the journal Nature, suggest that these materials were ejected from the Moon’s upper mantle when it was struck by a meteor.