Chinese scientists reveal diverse glassy materials from Chang'e-5 lunar samples

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have revealed various glassy materials from the lunar samples brought back by the Chang'e-5 mission and clarified their physical origins of liquid quenching, vapor deposition, and irradiation damage, respectively, according to the Institute of Physics (IOP) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Researchers found that the samples contained various glassy or amorphous materials, including glass particles with diverse shapes, including globules, ellipsoids, dumbbells, and teardrops.

In addition, adhered glass with splash-like, droplet-like, and other distribution patterns and amorphous rims induced by vapor deposition and irradiation damage, respectively, were also discovered.

"These impact-induced glassy materials recorded multi-scale impact events on the lunar surface, which was of great significance to understanding the formation and evolution of lunar soil," Dr. Zhao Rui with the IOP told Science and Technology Daily.

The abundant micro-impact products, like micron and nano-scale glass droplets and craters, showed the lunar regolith significantly changed with frequent micrometeorite bombardment.

The irradiated amorphous rims produced by solar wind and the widespread degassing vesicles in adhered glass indicated the role of solar wind in modifying lunar regolith at the mid-high latitude of the Moon, said the researchers in their study.

The researchers also identified indigenous glass fibers for the first time in the lunar samples. The indigenous ultra-elongated glass fibers indicated a relatively gentle impact environment at the Chang'e-5 landing site.

Shen Laiquan, an associate researcher with the IOP, said that these natural glass fibers proved the feasibility of using lunar soil to process and produce glass-building materials on the lunar surface.

It will support the future construction of a lunar base, Shen added.

These findings suggested that small-scale and gentle impacts played a pivotal role in reshaping the lunar surface at the Chang'e-5 landing site, and it could impact regolith evolution, water distributions, and space weathering of the lunar surface, according to the study.

The findings appeared in the journal National Science Review.