Chandrayaan-1 data reveals 2 ancient impacts in Mare Australe
India's Chandrayaan-1 mission just helped scientists uncover signs of an ancient impact basin in the moon's Mare Australe region.
A study out this August says patterns of a mineral called orthopyroxene point to not one, but two ancient impacts that shaped this area, offering new clues about the Moon's early impact history.
Ahmedabad researchers find unusual mare minerals
Researchers in Ahmedabad used data from Chandrayaan-1's Moon Mineralogy Mapper and found some unusual minerals in the Mare Australe basalts, ones you don't usually see on the moon.
These minerals stayed consistent across different eras, hinting that the magma source didn't really change over time.
Plus, missing anorthosite along the basin rim suggests this crater formed super early in lunar history, giving us fresh insight into how our cosmic neighbor evolved.