Li noted that these findings reveal volcanic activity on the far side spanning over 1 billion years, prompting further research into the persistence of this activity.

The findings confirm that the far side of the Moon once contained a vast magma ocean, supporting theories about its early formation.

Analysis of these samples indicates that the Moon had a global liquid magma ocean shortly after its formation, lasting for tens to hundreds of millions of years.

Researchers have analyzed the soil samples collected by the Chang'e 6 spacecraft, providing valuable insights into the Moon's geological history.

This new study confirms previous suggestions that the far side of the Moon had erupting volcanoes billions of years ago, similar to the near side.

This mission follows China's previous lunar efforts, including the Chang'e 5 mission in 2020, which retrieved samples from the near side, and the Chang'e 4 mission in 2019, the first to explore the far side.

The basalt fragments from the samples show a composition similar to low-titanium basalts collected during NASA's Apollo missions, enhancing our understanding of the Moon's volcanic activity.

The Chang'e 6 mission, which launched in early May 2024 and returned lunar samples in late June, successfully collected 1,935.3 grams of material from the far side of the Moon.

Two independent research teams discovered volcanic rock fragments in the samples, with ages ranging from approximately 2.8 billion years to one piece dating back 4.2 billion years.

The far side of the Moon is characterized by numerous craters and fewer flat, dark plains formed by lava flows, with ongoing research aimed at understanding the differences between the two sides.

Some isotopic ratios of Uranium and Lead in the Chang'e 6 samples differ from those of Apollo samples, suggesting a major impact event around 4.2 billion years ago altered the Moon's mantle.

These significant findings were published in the journals Nature and Science on March 20, 2025, marking a milestone in lunar research.