Core Findings - The research team led by Xu Yigang from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry has accurately determined that the Apollo Basin on the Moon formed 4.16 billion years ago, providing key evidence for the Late Heavy Bombardment in the solar system [1][2] - This new finding advances the timeline for the onset of the Late Heavy Bombardment by at least 100 million years, challenging the previous hypothesis of a catastrophic increase in impact flux during 4 to 3.8 billion years ago [2] Research Methodology - The team analyzed 3.5 grams of lunar soil, discovering three rock fragments with diameters between 150 and 350 micrometers, which are ideal "rock clocks" that record impact events [1] - The age of the rock fragments was confirmed through a combination of remote sensing images and geochemical data, leading to the conclusion that the impact flux during the Late Heavy Bombardment was gradually decreasing rather than experiencing a sudden increase [2]