The near and far sides of the Moon are very different in their chemical composition, their magmatic activity and the thickness of their crust. The reasons for this difference are not fully understood, but a new study of rocks brought back to Earth by China’s Chang’e-6 mission has provided the beginnings of an answer. According to researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing, who measured iron and potassium isotopes in four samples from the Moon’s gigantic South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA), the discrepancy likely stems from the giant meteorite impact that created the basin. China has been at the forefront of lunar exploration in recent years, beginning in 2007 with the launch of the lunar orbiter Chang’e-1. Since then, it has carried out several uncrewed missions to the lunar surface. In 2019, one of these, Chang’e-4, became the first craft to touch down on the far side of the Moon, landing in the SPA’s Von Kármán crater.…