Chinese Researchers Review New Path to Unified Moon Timeline

(MENAFN) Chinese researchers have verified that the frequency of impact craters on both the near and far faces of the moon aligns closely, a conclusion that may underpin the creation of a single, worldwide lunar dating framework, according to reports from state media on Sunday.

The investigation was conducted by a team headed by the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which updated a long-standing model of lunar impact chronology through the examination of remote-sensing imagery, a Beijing-based news agency reported.

Their findings, released last week in the academic journal Science Advances, indicate that meteorite impacts occurred at a consistent rate across the moon’s two hemispheres.

The research also suggests that early bombardment episodes diminished steadily over time, rather than experiencing the sharp spikes proposed by earlier hypotheses.

Accurately establishing the age of the moon’s surface is essential for interpreting its geological development. For decades, researchers have inferred the ages of unexplored regions by tallying impact craters, operating under the principle that surfaces with more craters are generally older.

Previously, crater-dating models depended solely on material retrieved from the moon’s near side, with the oldest samples reaching ages of less than 4 billion years.

This constraint sparked prolonged debate about the moon’s earliest collision history, including rival ideas such as the Late Heavy Bombardment scenario.

In June 2024, China’s Chang’e-6 mission delivered 1,935 grams of lunar material to Earth, gathered from the Apollo Basin within the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the moon’s far side.

Researchers noted that the mission’s observations and samples played a crucial role in confirming the updated chronology model.

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