A research team led by Chinese scientists has obtained a high-precision map of the chemical composition of the lunar surface, providing key data for the study of the moon's evolutionary history.

According to reports, the chemical composition of the lunar surface records the formation and evolution of the moon, and is crucial for revealing the material composition and mineral-petrological characteristics of the moon.

At present, the widely used abundency map of elements on the lunar surface is mainly based on data from the US Clementine lunar orbiter and the chemical composition of Apollo samples.

However, lunar samples from Apollo and Luna only reveal the evolution of the moon 3 billion years ago, and do not reflect late lunar activity.

In December 2020, China's Chang 'e-5 achieved its first lunar sampling return, successfully bringing back new lunar samples from the northern part of the lunar Storm Ocean.

The analysis revealed that the Chang 'e-5 sample has unprecedented evidence of volcanic activity at a young age of 2 billion years and a distinctive material composition.

This time, the international research team composed of Jilin University, the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Trento in Italy, the University of Iceland and other Chinese and foreign research institutions,

Combined with the lunar sample data of different periods, the content of main elements on the lunar surface was accurately estimated, and a new high-resolution chemical composition distribution map between 65° north and south latitude with a resolution of 59 meters per pixel was obtained.

This study is based on a complex relationship model built on deep learning, which greatly improves human understanding of lunar volcanism and lays the foundation for the study of the geological evolution of the moon.

The research results were recently published in the international academic journal Nature Communications.