Beijing Youth Daily:

As we eagerly anticipate the exciting discoveries that the Chang'e-6 lunar probe will bring back, I would like to inquire about the findings from the 1,731 grams of lunar samples retrieved by Chang'e-5 in December 2020. Over the past three and a half years, what progress has been made in researching these lunar samples? Have we uncovered any secrets about the moon? Thank you.

Li Chunlai:

It has been over three years since the Chang'e-5 mission retrieved lunar samples, specifically basalts collected from the near side of the moon. Since then, Chinese scientists have conducted systematic research on these samples and achieved numerous breakthroughs, many of which have been published in major academic journals such as National Science Review, Science Bulletin, Nature and Science. More than 100 high-quality journal articles have been published in this short period, covering topics such as the moon's geology, geochemistry, lunar chronology, space weathering, lunar impact glasses, and the utilization of lunar soil. One of the most significant discoveries is that the basalts retrieved by the Chang'e-5 probe were found to have been formed by volcanic eruptions approximately 2 billion years ago. Distinct from the research results on older samples returned by the Apollo missions, this discovery has extended the known period of lunar volcanism by nearly 1 billion years. In addition, the Chang'e-5 samples have been identified as a new type of basalt, formed from a previously unknown magmatic activity. This discovery fills the gap in lunar sample studies conducted by the United States and the former Soviet Union. Moreover, a special mineral named Changesite-(Y) was also discovered in the Chang'e-5 samples, and other chemical features of these samples indicate that volcanic activity during the moon's geological evolution may have occurred in a unique environment. Chinese scientists have also thoroughly studied the glass materials in the Chang'e-5 lunar regolith samples, detecting a variety of space-weathered hydroxyl radicals and iron nanoparticles. Therefore, the research results have been quite fruitful. Thank you.

Liu Yunfeng:

Allow me to share an additional update. China has initiated the first application and review process for international participants to study Chang'e-5 lunar samples. We will inform the media at the appropriate time once the results are available.