China has approved the ninth round of lunar sample lending applications, distributing over 30 grams of moon material to 32 research teams across 25 institutions. These samples, retrieved by the Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6 missions, will support a broad spectrum of scientific studies.
According to the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, 30,881.8 milligrams of lunar samples will be s by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Aug 05, 2025
China has approved the ninth round of lunar sample lending applications, distributing over 30 grams of moon material to 32 research teams across 25 institutions. These samples, retrieved by the Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6 missions, will support a broad spectrum of scientific studies.
According to the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, 30,881.8 milligrams of lunar samples will be shared with selected researchers. Among the recipients are Macao University of Science and Technology, Chengdu University of Technology, Donghua University, Harbin Institute of Technology, the University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Several Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences affiliates are also on the approval list.
The Chang'e 6 mission made history by collecting 1,935.3 grams of lunar material from the far side of the moon - a first for humanity. Chang'e 5 previously returned 1,731 grams from the near side. These samples are part of China's growing lunar archive supporting planetary science.
China began distributing lunar material for research in 2021 and has since completed eight prior lending rounds. The recent approval continues a systematic effort to make these extraterrestrial materials available to domestic institutions.
Last month, Chinese scientists released new findings based on Chang'e 6 samples, including studies on ancient lunar volcanism, magnetic field evolution, water content, and the moon's internal geochemistry.
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