Moon had surprisingly recent volcanic activity, samples from Chinese space mission confirm

Volcanoes were erupting on the Moon as recently as 120 million years ago, evidence collected by a Chinese spacecraft suggests.

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• Volcanism is a major way in which all rocky planetary bodies lose their heat

Until the last few years, scientists had thought volcanic activity ended on the Moon around 2 billion years ago.

The findings, published in Science, come from analysis of lunar rock and soil delivered to Earth by China's Change 5 spacecraft in 2020. While these results are difficult to reconcile with the accepted history of lunar volcanism, it's possible some areas of the Moon's interior were more enriched in radioactive elements that generate the heat that drives volcanic activity.

The region where Change 5 landed, called Oceanus Procellarum, may be one such area where rocks were enriched in these heat-producing elements.