China Unlocks Breakthrough in Lunar Timeline

(MENAFN) Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers have shattered decades of assumptions about lunar history, revealing that meteor impacts struck both faces of the moon at identical rates—a breakthrough that paves the way for the first universal dating system for Earth's satellite, media reported Sunday.

The groundbreaking study, spearheaded by the Institute of Geology and Geophysics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, fundamentally overhauls the impact crater chronology framework that astronomers have relied upon since the Apollo era. Investigators scrutinized remote sensing imagery to reach their conclusions, according to media.

Published in Science Advances last week, the research demonstrates uniform meteor bombardment patterns spanning both lunar hemispheres. The findings demolish earlier hypotheses suggesting wild fluctuations in ancient impact events, instead confirming a steady, progressive reduction in collisions during the moon's infancy.

Establishing precise surface ages remains essential for decoding the moon's geological timeline. Planetary scientists have long employed crater density as a dating mechanism—higher concentrations signal more ancient terrain.

Previous chronology frameworks suffered from a critical weakness: every analyzed sample originated from the moon's Earth-facing hemisphere, with none predating 4 billion years. This data gap ignited fierce scientific disputes regarding primordial impact patterns, including the contentious Late Heavy Bombardment hypothesis.

China's Chang'e-6 probe touched down on Earth in June 2024 bearing 1,935 grams of regolith extracted from the Apollo Basin, nested within the massive South Pole-Aitken Basin on the lunar far side. Researchers credit the mission's specimens and measurements as instrumental in confirming their updated chronology framework.

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