China’s Chang’e 5 Lunar Probe Discovers First On-Site Evidence of Water on the Moon’s Surface

• China’s Chang’e 5 lunar lander has found the first-ever on-site evidence of water on the surface of the moon.
• This lander has found the first on-site evidence of water on the surface of the Moon.
• This new discovery provided new evidence to the dryness of the satellite.It revealed that the lunar soil at the landing site comprises of less than 120 grams water per ton or120 parts-per-million (ppm) water.
• It further reveals that, a light, vesicular rock carries 180 ppm water.These are much drier as compared to that of Earth.

The Chang’e-5 spacecraft

• It is the fifth lunar exploration mission of Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. It is also the first lunar sample-return mission of China. It has been named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e.
• The space craft was launched on November 23, 2020 from Hainan Island and it landed on the Moon on December 1, 2020.
• It collected around 1,731 g of lunar samples and returned to the Earth on December 16, 2020.
• The spacecraft had landed on one of the youngest mare basalts, which is located at a mid-high latitude on the moon.