Chinese Scientists Ready to Study Far Side Lunar Samples from Chang'e-6 Probe

Chinese Scientists Ready to Study Far Side Lunar Samples from Chang'e-6 Probe

Chinese scientists are fully prepared to study the lunar samples being brought back to Earth by the Chang'e-6 mission at the country's lunar sample lab at the National Astronomical Observatories (NAO), a Beijing-based agency under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The ascender of the Chang'e-6 probe lifted off from lunar surface on Tuesday June 4, 2024, carrying samples collected from the Moon's far side south polar region for the first time in human history. It has entered a preset orbit around the Moon in preparation for Moon-to-Earth transfer, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The probe's returner, carrying the samples, is expected to make its planned touchdown in the Siziwang Banner in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region around June 25, 2024.

The lunar sample lab allows for the long-term storage of the samples in a high purity nitrogen environment and ensures there is no contamination during the research process.

For example, there is a cabinet, or glove box, filled with nitrogen used for sample unsealing at the lab, where lunar samples collected by the previous Chang'e-5 probe in 2020 were unsealed.

"The glove box is filled with nitrogen with pressure inside which is designed to be a little bit higher than the pressure outside the box, so as to prevent air from getting inside to pollute the samples," said Zhou Qin, deputy chief designer of ground application system of Chang'e-6 mission.

Lunar samples to be brought back by the Chang'e-6 mission will also be unsealed at the cabinet and distributed to scientists for research.

According to the lab, lunar samples brought back by the Chang'e-5 mission were categorized and stored based on the standard of "whether they had been exposed to the air."

"The samples, once exposed to the air, can be further divided into two categories. One are the rock samples that we picked out from the lunar soil which are numbered and stored separately. We have already weighed the weight and taken pictures of the rocks by exposing them to the air. The other are the returned samples that we once released to the public. According to the requirements of China's Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, the samples lent out, as long as there is a surplus, must be returned to us. The returned samples can be re-applied and reused by scientists for further research," said Zhou.

The lunar samples which have not been exposed to the air are kept in a nitrogen-filled, sealed glove box.

"The 10 bottles here are used to store original samples collected with a sampling shovel. They are very fine with an average particle size of about 50 microns, which is similar to the thickness of the flour particle size. We divided about 150 grams of samples into each bottle. As we distributed the samples to institutions for research, some bottles are one third or half filled. There are also some borehole samples stored here on the shelve, which have never been exposed to the air," said Zhou.

"At present, the lunar samples we keep at the lab are available for distribution. According to the initial plan, 10 percent of the samples have been kept for remote and permanent backup storage, which means we have made preparations for reserving and sub-sampling," she said.

The CNSA has completed the distribution of six batches of Chang'e-5 lunar samples to domestic research institutions. International scientists and institutions are permitted to apply for the samples in the seventh batch.

Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: June 4, 2024

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