China’s space agency says its lunar probe mission has brought back nearly two kilograms of samples from the far side of the moon.
The Chang’e-6 unmanned probe collected rock and soil samples from the moon’s far side that are the world’s first.
A return capsule carrying the samples landed in China’s inland region on June 25. It was then carried to the capital, Beijing.
The China National Space Administration announced on Friday that based on preliminary measurement, it found the Chang’e-6 mission had collected 1,935.3 grams of lunar samples, close to a target of 2,000 grams.
The samples were handed over to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which has led the study, for detailed analysis.
The samples are expected to help better understand the moon’s origin, and its water and other resources.
China aims to take initiative in the lunar exploration and development by studying the samples from the moon’s far side ahead of other countries.
Meanwhile, the United States is leading the international lunar exploration program Artemis.