On April 24, the China National Space Administration announced the latest research findings from lunar samples returned by the Chang'e-5 mission. China has discovered two new minerals in the lunar samples retrieved by Chang'e-5.

The newly discovered mineral magnesian changesite, found in the Chang'e-5 lunar samples, mainly occurs in basaltic breccia from lunar drilling. This mineral forms columnar crystals with a grain size of only 2 to 30 micrometers, approximately one-thirtieth to one-third the diameter of a human hair. Experts told reporters that while magnesian changesite and the previously discovered changesite are both calcium rare-earth phosphate minerals, magnesian changesite is richer in magnesium and rare-earth elements.

In addition to magnesian changesite, researchers have identified another new mineral in the Chang'e-5 lunar samples, named cerian changesite.

Hou Zengqian, Chief Scientist of China's Planetary Exploration Project and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, stated: Compared with previous changesite, the newly discovered mineral cerian changesite is more enriched in the light rare-earth element cerium. It records products from different stages of lunar evolution, helping us better understand the formation and evolution history of the moon. Our next step is to continue studying the new material composition of lunar soil samples to provide a scientific basis for future resource development and utilization.

To date, China has discovered three new minerals from the Chang'e-5 lunar samples, enriching the library of lunar mineral types. This research provides new mineralogical study subjects for lunar exploration and advances China's planetary mineralogy to a deeper level.