Ahead of the first anniversary of its successful landing on the south pole of the Moon, India's Chandrayaan-3 mission has uncovered evidence that a vast magma ocean may have once existed under the lunar surface.
According to a study published in Nature on Wednesday, Chandrayaan-3's Pragyan rover analyzed the moon's high-latitude region and collected the first regolith samples from 23 locations using an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer.
This research is debatable because the Pragyan rover found more olivine than pyroxene on the lunar surface, contradicting the findings of previous missions. Moreover, the moon lacks plate tectonics; even if there's liquid water, it may lack the organic chemistry necessary to support life.