This achievement marks the first instance in which Chinese scientists have successfully produced a comprehensive X-ray image of the moon using a domestically developed space telescope.

Chen Yong, a researcher from the Institute of High Energy Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained that "X-ray fluorescence radiation generated by lunar elements excited by X-rays from the Sun can reveal the distribution of various elements on the lunar surface."

Different elements exhibit distinct X-ray characteristics, and by studying the X-ray images at various energy levels, scientists can detect the presence of multiple elements on the lunar surface. Due to Earth's atmosphere blocking this X-ray radiation, specialized X-ray satellites are needed to conduct these observations outside the atmosphere.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival occurred when the moon was near its perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit. As a result, the moon appeared about 14 percent larger and shined more brightly, often referred to as a "supermoon." This alignment offered an ideal opportunity for astronomical observations.

In a separate development, Chinese scientists also shared new findings regarding lunar samples from the far side of the moon. These samples were collected by the Chang'e 6 mission and analyzed in a study published in the 'National Science Review'.

On Tuesday, researchers highlighted the distinct characteristics of the lunar farside soil samples returned by the Chang'e 6 probe, which gathered 1,935.3 grams of material from the South Pole-Aitken basin. This is the largest, deepest, and oldest impact basin on the moon, and the mission marks the first time samples have been collected from the moon's far side.

The Chang'e 6 samples offer direct evidence for exploring the moon's early evolution, volcanic activity, and its impact history, according to the study's authors.

The research was led by Li Chunlai from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hu Hao from the China Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the China National Space Administration, and Yang Mengfei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The team examined the physical, mineralogical, petrographic, and geochemical properties of the lunar samples. They found that the Chang'e 6 soil had lower bulk density and true density compared to the Chang'e 5 samples, which were retrieved from the moon's nearside. This suggests a looser structure and higher porosity in the farside samples.

Additionally, the analysis revealed that the Chang'e 6 soil consists of a mixture of local basalts and nonbasalts. The samples contain diverse lithic fragments, including mare basalt, breccia, agglutinate, glass, and leucocrate.

"These local mare basalts document the volcanism history of the lunar farside, while the nonbasaltic fragments may offer critical insights into the lunar highland crust, South Pole-Aitken impact melts, and potentially the deep lunar mantle, making these samples highly significant for scientific research," the researchers noted.

Soil samples from previous missions - including six Apollo missions, three Luna missions, and the Chang'e 5 mission - have been crucial in understanding the moon's history. With these new findings, scientists are gaining an even more nuanced understanding of the moon's evolution.

For instance, the Chang'e 5 lunar samples indicate that magmatic activity persisted until around 2 billion years ago, which challenges earlier conclusions from the Apollo missions that suggested lunar magmatism ceased around 3 billion years ago.

By continuing to conduct in-depth research on these valuable samples, scientists hope to enhance knowledge about the moon's internal structure, material composition, and its formation and evolution processes, contributing to the growth of lunar and planetary science.

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