Subsoil structure at the Chang’E-6 landing site revealed by in-situ Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar
Abstract As humanity’s first sample return mission from the lunar farside, China’s Chang’E-6 mission provides a unique window into understanding the dichotomy in lunar nearside-farside evolution. Chang’E-6 landed in the southwestern Apollo basin (~2.79 Ga) within the South Pole–Aitken basin, providi...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02631-4 |
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| author | Zongyu Zhang Chunyu Ding Yan Su Shaoxiang Shen Wei Lu Francesco Soldovieri Zhiyong Xiao Xingguo Zeng Wei Du Yuhang Liu Changzhi Jiang Gianluca Gennarelli Ilaria Catapano Shun Dai Jianqing Feng Yichen Wang Jianjun Liu Chunlai Li |
| author_facet | Zongyu Zhang Chunyu Ding Yan Su Shaoxiang Shen Wei Lu Francesco Soldovieri Zhiyong Xiao Xingguo Zeng Wei Du Yuhang Liu Changzhi Jiang Gianluca Gennarelli Ilaria Catapano Shun Dai Jianqing Feng Yichen Wang Jianjun Liu Chunlai Li |
| author_sort | Zongyu Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract As humanity’s first sample return mission from the lunar farside, China’s Chang’E-6 mission provides a unique window into understanding the dichotomy in lunar nearside-farside evolution. Chang’E-6 landed in the southwestern Apollo basin (~2.79 Ga) within the South Pole–Aitken basin, providing a valuable record of early solar system impacts. Equipped with a Multi-Input-Multi-Output Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar, the mission enabled the first detailed investigation of the shallow subsurface structure at the farside. By employing a tailored data processing approach, we obtained high-resolution subsurface images and revealed a distinct two-layer structure to a depth of 3 m. The upper layer (~1.7 m thick) consists of fine-grained, highly weathered regolith, while the lower layer (extending to 3 m) contains coarse, unweathered ejecta. Furthermore, by integrating data from Apollo and Chang’E missions, we identified a potential relationship between the lunar surface geological age and the shallow regolith’s electromagnetic losses. Specifically, geologically older regions exhibit lower electromagnetic attenuation, suggesting a possible link between regolith maturity and electromagnetic properties. These findings provide critical insights into the geological evolution of the Moon, and also offer unprecedented opportunities for correlating in-situ radar measurements with laboratory analyses of the farside samples, fundamentally advancing our understanding of lunar exploration. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e3e988af5c5b4ce4a3777ee0d93f0873 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-e3e988af5c5b4ce4a3777ee0d93f08732025-08-20T04:02:41ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-08-016111010.1038/s43247-025-02631-4Subsoil structure at the Chang’E-6 landing site revealed by in-situ Lunar Regolith Penetrating RadarZongyu Zhang0Chunyu Ding1Yan Su2Shaoxiang Shen3Wei Lu4Francesco Soldovieri5Zhiyong Xiao6Xingguo Zeng7Wei Du8Yuhang Liu9Changzhi Jiang10Gianluca Gennarelli11Ilaria Catapano12Shun Dai13Jianqing Feng14Yichen Wang15Jianjun Liu16Chunlai Li17Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen UniversityKey Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of SciencesAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of SciencesAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment, National Research Council of ItalyPlanetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen UniversityKey Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen UniversityInstitute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment, National Research Council of ItalyInstitute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment, National Research Council of ItalyKey Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of SciencesPlanetary Science InstitutePlanetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen UniversityKey Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract As humanity’s first sample return mission from the lunar farside, China’s Chang’E-6 mission provides a unique window into understanding the dichotomy in lunar nearside-farside evolution. Chang’E-6 landed in the southwestern Apollo basin (~2.79 Ga) within the South Pole–Aitken basin, providing a valuable record of early solar system impacts. Equipped with a Multi-Input-Multi-Output Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar, the mission enabled the first detailed investigation of the shallow subsurface structure at the farside. By employing a tailored data processing approach, we obtained high-resolution subsurface images and revealed a distinct two-layer structure to a depth of 3 m. The upper layer (~1.7 m thick) consists of fine-grained, highly weathered regolith, while the lower layer (extending to 3 m) contains coarse, unweathered ejecta. Furthermore, by integrating data from Apollo and Chang’E missions, we identified a potential relationship between the lunar surface geological age and the shallow regolith’s electromagnetic losses. Specifically, geologically older regions exhibit lower electromagnetic attenuation, suggesting a possible link between regolith maturity and electromagnetic properties. These findings provide critical insights into the geological evolution of the Moon, and also offer unprecedented opportunities for correlating in-situ radar measurements with laboratory analyses of the farside samples, fundamentally advancing our understanding of lunar exploration.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02631-4 |
| spellingShingle | Zongyu Zhang Chunyu Ding Yan Su Shaoxiang Shen Wei Lu Francesco Soldovieri Zhiyong Xiao Xingguo Zeng Wei Du Yuhang Liu Changzhi Jiang Gianluca Gennarelli Ilaria Catapano Shun Dai Jianqing Feng Yichen Wang Jianjun Liu Chunlai Li Subsoil structure at the Chang’E-6 landing site revealed by in-situ Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Subsoil structure at the Chang’E-6 landing site revealed by in-situ Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar |
| title_full | Subsoil structure at the Chang’E-6 landing site revealed by in-situ Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar |
| title_fullStr | Subsoil structure at the Chang’E-6 landing site revealed by in-situ Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar |
| title_full_unstemmed | Subsoil structure at the Chang’E-6 landing site revealed by in-situ Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar |
| title_short | Subsoil structure at the Chang’E-6 landing site revealed by in-situ Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar |
| title_sort | subsoil structure at the chang e 6 landing site revealed by in situ lunar regolith penetrating radar |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02631-4 |
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