Chang'e-6 samples reveal first evidence of impact-formed hematite and maghemite on the moon

A joint research team from the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGCAS) and Shandong University has for the first time identified crystalline hematite (-Fe2O3) and maghemite (-Fe2O3) formed by a major impact event in lunar soil samples retrieved by China's Chang'e-6 mission from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin. This finding, published in Science Advances on November 14, provides direct sample-based evidence of highly oxidized materials on the lunar surface.