SPACE — China's Chang'e 4 mission has found an unusually colored gel-like substance on the far side of the moon.<br /><br />Space.com reports that on July 28, the Yutu-2 lunar rover had been exploring the far side of the moon. While reviewing the rover's images, a Chang'e 4 team member noticed that one crater seemed to contain a material distinct from the rest of the lunar surface.<br /><br />The Yutu-2 was directed to approach the crater and examine its inside with its Visible and Near-Infrared Spectrometer.<br /><br />Mission scientists have not revealed what the substance is, describing it only as gel-like and with an unusual color.<br /><br />Outside researchers have suggested that one possible explanation is that the substance is melted glass created from meteorites striking the surface of the moon.<br /><br />China's Chang'e 4 spacecraft successfully made the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon on January 3. The Yutu-2 rover is now on its ninth lunar day, with each day equivalent to two Earth weeks.<br /><br />In May, Chinese scientists also announced that they'd found evidence of material from the lunar mantle in the regolith of the moon's Von Karman crater.
