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June 27th, 2024
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
A container carrying China’s far side lunar samples has been extracted from the returner capsule of the Chang’e-6 lunar probe mission during a June 26 ceremony at the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing.
The Chang’e-6 probe returner touched down in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Tuesday, completing its 53-day Earth-to-Moon and return journey with a touchdown in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
On Wednesday morning, the Chang’e-6 return capsule arrived in Beijing for sample retrieval and payload removal.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Wait on the weight
The weight of the returned samples collected from the far side of the Moon by the Chang’e-6 mission will be made public on Friday, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has stated.
Image credit: CNSA/CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Hu Hao, the chief designer of the Chang’e-6 mission, stated at the press event that the lunar soil samples from the Moon’s near side are fine and loose, while the samples from the far side appear to be different, Hu said. “So, we have higher expectations for the new lunar samples and hope that scientists will make new discoveries.”
Bian Zhigang, deputy head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Chang’e era
According to Bian Zhigang, deputy head of the CNSA, Chinese and foreign scientists have published more than 1,900 papers using data from China’s lunar exploration.
Global studies of lunar samples have entered the “Chang’e Era,” said Bian at the media event.
“Chinese and foreign scientists have published more than 1,900 papers using data from China’s lunar programs,” Bian said. “From the Chang’e-5 lunar samples, Chinese scientists discovered the sixth new mineral on the Moon and named it Changesite-(Y).”
Bian said that “research has proven that magma activities still existed on the Moon 1.96 billion years ago, which extended the known geological life of the Moon by 1 billion years.”
Go to these new videos focused on the Chang’e-6 sample return at:
Posted in Space News
