A group of Chinese scientists has analyzed samples brought back from the far side of the moon by the Chang’e-6 mission and has identified a new aspect of the evolution of the moon’s magnetic field.
Although the moon does not currently have a magnetic field like the Earth does, it did in the past. Sample returns and direct measurements from the Apollo program have revealed that there was an active magnetic field generator, quite active from 4.2 to 3.5 billion years ago, which declined around 3.1 billion years ago and again over 1 billion years ago.
