(Xinhua/Jin Liwang)
BEIJING, June 27 (Xinhua) — The weight of samples collected from the far side of the Moon by the Chang’e-6 mission will be made public on Friday, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Thursday.
Hu Hao, chief designer of the Chang’e-6 mission, revealed his first impressions of the lunar soil samples at a press conference organized by ASNC.
“Lunar soil samples from the near side of the Moon are thin and not very compact, while samples from the far side appear to be different. So we have high expectations from the new lunar samples and hope that scientists will make new discoveries.” , Mr. Hu said.
Previous lunar sampling missions have all collected samples from the near side of the Moon. The Chang’e-6 probe succeeded in taking samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time, which should lead to a better understanding of the Moon, said Li Chunlai, deputy chief designer of the Chang’e mission. -6.
The Chang’e-6 probe landed and collected samples in the South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA). The colossal SPA basin was formed by a celestial impact more than 4.3 billion years ago. It has a diameter of 2,500 km and a depth of approximately 13 km. It would be the largest impact crater discovered to date in the inner solar system.
The Chang’e-6 probe, consisting of an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a return module, was launched on May 3. The return module carrying the samples landed on Earth on Tuesday. END
