Rover Spotted A Strange Substance On The Moon, And Experts Say It Has Astronomical Implications

The Chinese rover vehicle Yutu-2 crawls cautiously across the rugged terrain of the dark side of the Moon. It takes photos as it moves, transmitting them back to mission control in Beijing. So far, things seem routine. But then Yutu-2 sends back an image of a mysterious gel-like, colorful substance lying in a little crater. This gets Beijing’s attention. What is this baffling substance and what’s it doing in a Moon crater?

Mystery Substance

Perplexed personnel at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center have no idea what this material is. But they they want to find out more, so Yutu-2’s movement schedule is quickly modified. Instead of roving further afield as originally planned, it will now spend more time concentrating on this puzzling find.

Entering Lunar Orbit

The Yutu-2 rover is part of the China National Space Administration’s Lunar Exploration Program. It was transported to the Moon aboard the Chang’e-4 spacecraft, which itself was sent to space atop a rocket from south-west China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center in December 2018. The spaceship entered lunar orbit after just over a 4-day flight.

Welcome To Van Kármán Crater

Chang’e-4 left its orbit and made a successful soft landing on the Moon’s surface on January 3, 2019. It came down on the Van Kármán crater, which is some 110 miles across. That crater itself is in a much larger impact crater, the South Pole-Aitken basin. That is just over eight miles deep and has a diameter of some 1,600 miles.

First Time On The Dark Side

This soft landing was extraordinary, because it took place on the dark side of the Moon. No other spacecraft had ever achieved this before. After all, the terrain there presents particular challenges. While the side of the Moon visible to Earth has a comparatively flat topography, the dark side is much craggier, with mountains around double the size of Mount Everest.