Today (28th), the National Space Administration released the latest research results for the back of the Chang'e-6 moon. These research results provide a key scientific basis for humans to study major scientific issues such as the origin and evolution of the moon. A joint research team organized by the National Space Administration and led by the Ion Probe Center of the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, obtained papers related to the latest research results of the Chang'e-6 lunar back sample obtained were also published today in the international academic journal Science. Research results show that the dominant formation age of basalt in this study sample is 2.823 billion years. By comparing the sample characteristics on the back and front of the moon, researchers verified the lunar magma ocean hypothesis.
The most important device used in this study is the secondary ion mass spectrometer that measures the age and isotope composition of Chang'e-6 sample, also known as an ion probe. It is currently the most cutting-edge equipment in the field of international geological research.
Ion probe analysis is a high-energy primary ion beam bombarding the sample surface, sputtering to generate secondary ions. After these charged particles are separated by the mass analyzer, they finally arrive at the detector, thereby achieving accurate analysis of the material composition on the sample surface.
Long Tao, Center for Planetary Science Research, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences: This instrument is called an ion probe, and it is the most critical instrument for our research on Chang'e-6 samples this time. It can realize sample analysis at the micron scale, and it can realize the analysis of almost all elements in the periodic table. Now we are debugging the instrument, and the ion beam diameter currently displayed can reach tens of microns, basically one-third of the size of human hair.
