Chinese astronomers find and describe a new mineral on the moon. Scientists at the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology name the mineral “Changesite-(Y).”

The Chang’e 5 robotic lunar mission brought back samples of the moon’s surface that leads to the discovery. China is the third country in the world, after the United States and Russia, to have done something like this.

What is Merrillite?

Merrillite is a mineral containing calcium phosphate.

Key Facts about Changesite-(Y)!

• Changesite-(Y) is a type of merrillite from the moon.
• It is the first lunar mineral that Chinese scientists have found and named.
• The mineral is found as a single-crystal particle that is 10 microns in diameter.
• This is done after taking the mineral apart into more than 140,000 tiny pieces.
• After that, the mineral is put through a number of advanced methods for analysing minerals.
• Changesite-(Y) will help researchers learn more about the moon’s history and its physical properties.
• Researchers also looked at samples to find out how much helium-3 was there and what it was like.
• Future nuclear fusion power plants should use helium-3 as a fuel.
• The results will make it easier to look for resources on the moon and figure out what they are worth.
• Experts think that the moon has at least a million tonnes of helium-3.

Watch a video

Check out the following Youtube clip shared by “Space With Julia” on the discovery of Changesite-(Y). 

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