China announces three new moon missions after discovery of new mineral

Chinese scientists have discovered an unknown mineral in soil samples from the moon. China has announced that it has planned three new lunar missions to conduct further research on the moon.

China plans to send at least three new missions to the moon in the next decade, reports Bloomberg. The announcement comes a day after the announcement of the discovery of a new mineral: Changesite-(Y). The name is derived from the Chinese lunar mission Chang’e Project. With the discovery of the new mineral, China is the third country after the US and Russia to have discovered a mineral on the moon.

In addition to the mineral discovered by China, the soil samples also showed evidence of the presence of helium-3 on the moon. Helium-3 is an important raw material for nuclear fusion and therefore a potential energy source.

The soil sample was brought to Earth by China in 2020 with the lunar lander Chang’e 5. The lunar lander brought almost two kilograms of moon rocks to Earth.