Volcanic activity on the Moon has taken place more recently than scientists thought, latest findings suggest.
Lunar rocks brought back to Earth for the first time in decades show evidence of ancient volcanic activity, according to Chinese scientists.
They brought lunar rocks and soil to Earth last year in humanity's first mission in four decades, in a milestone for Beijing's growing space programme.
The samples included basalt, a form of cooled lava, from two billion years ago – bringing forward the last known date of volcanic activity on the Moon by as much as 900 million years.
Analysis of the samples "reveals that the Moon's interior was still evolving at around two billion years ago", said the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Previous moon rocks brought back by US and Soviet missions showed evidence of lunar activity up to 2.8 billion years ago, but left a gap in scientists' knowledge about the more recent history of Earth's natural satellite, as they were from older parts of the lunar surface.
The Chang'e-5 mission, named after a mythical moon goddess, collected two kilograms of samples from a previously unexplored area of the Moon called Mons Ruemker in the Oceanus Procellarum or "Ocean of Storms".
The area was selected as it was thought by scientists to be more recently formed, based on the lower density of craters from meteors on its surface.
"Altogether those results are extremely exciting, providing amazing science and results on understanding the lunar formation and evolution over time," Audrey Bouvier, a planetology professor at Germany's University of Bayreuth, said in a video message at a Beijing press conference on Tuesday.
The latest findings, published in three papers in the Nature journal on Tuesday, open up new questions for scientists trying to decipher the history of the Moon.
"How did the Moon sustain volcanic activity for so long? The Moon is naturally small and should disperse heat quickly, or so the thinking goes," CAS researcher Li Xianhua, one of the authors of the studies, told reporters.
The Chang'e 5 samples marked a major step for the Chinese space programme, which has sent a rover to Mars and landed another craft on the far side of the Moon.
The country, racing to catch up with the US and Russia, sent three astronauts to its new space station on Saturday, which is expected to become operational next year.
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
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Men:
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2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
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Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia on October 10
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
