Chang’e 6 Reveals Lunar Far Side Samples for Science: A New Era of International Collaboration

Chinese scientists and researchers have been granted access to lunar samples collected during the Chang’e 6 mission. The capsule containing the samples was brought to Beijing and opened to reveal its contents, marking the successful end of the 53-day-long mission that brought the first lunar far side samples to Earth.

The capsule made a fiery reentry on June 25 before landing in Inner Mongolia. It was then transported to the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) in Beijing where a ceremony was held to examine the capsule and its technical indicators. During the ceremony, a sample container holding up to 4.4 pounds of moon material was secured for further analysis and storage. Special facilities have been developed at CAST to store, analyze, and distribute the samples for research purposes.

Similar to the samples collected by Chang’e 5 from the moon’s near side in 2020, the materials will be made available for research by Chinese scientists and institutions. After two years, international researchers may also have the opportunity to apply for access to the samples. NASA-funded researchers were granted permission late last year to apply for access to lunar samples, and the materials from Chang’e 6 will provide valuable insights into the composition of