A terrestrial phenomenon has been discovered on the far side of the Moon, surprising scientists.

Scientists have conducted a new analysis of soil samples collected by the Chinese mission "Chang'e-6" from the far side of the Moon, discovering fragments of basalt. These volcanic rocks were formed after volcanic eruptions. It has been determined that the age of these rocks exceeds 4.2 billion years. The findings have been published in the journals Nature and Science, reports BBC.

Researchers were already aware that the side of the Moon visible from Earth was once volcanically active, but the far side of the satellite exhibits significantly different geological characteristics and remains relatively unexplored.

Investigators from the Chinese Academy of Sciences analyzed rock samples collected by the "Chang'e-6" lander on the far side of the Moon earlier this year. To determine the age of the rocks, scientists employed radiometric dating.

In addition to identifying basalt fragments older than 4.2 billion years, indicating volcanic eruptions during the Moon's early history, signs of more recent eruptions were also discovered.

Researchers found that volcanic activity was observed on the far side of the Moon as recently as 2.8 billion years ago, which was not detected on the visible side of the Earth’s satellite during the same period. This makes the results particularly intriguing, say the scientists.

Although the side of the Moon that is not visible to us is sometimes referred to as the dark side, it receives just as much sunlight as the other side. However, from Earth, people can only see one side of our natural satellite. This is due to the gravitational connection between the Moon and Earth, as the Moon completes one rotation on its axis and one orbit around our planet in approximately 27 days. Thus, the Moon always presents the same face towards Earth.

The first photograph of the far side of the Moon was taken in 1959 by the Soviet spacecraft "Luna-3". Although it was not a very clear image, it allowed humanity to see the Moon from a different perspective for the first time.