The moon was once covered by an ocean of molten rock, data from India's space mission suggests

image via Space.com

August 22, 2024, 4:00 PM

• •Data from India's recent Chandrayaan-3 mission supports the idea that an ocean of molten rock once covered the moon.
• •The chemical composition of the lunar south pole regolith is intermediate between those of samples from two locations in the moon's equatorial region.
• •The broad similarity in the chemical compositions of all these samples, despite the fact they came from very distant geographical locations on the moon, supports the idea that a single magma ocean covered the moon early in its history.

India's Chandrayaan-3 mission has found evidence that the moon was once covered in a magma ocean. The findings support the idea that the moon's crust formed when this magma ocean cooled and solidified.

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