The Chang’e-6 mission’s sample, which might hold clues about the origins of the moon and Earth, is the latest achievement of China’s lunar exploration program.

HELSINKI — China’s Chang’e-5 has successfully landed on the moon in a major step towards obtaining the youngest lunar samples so far collected and delivering them to Earth.

The sample, known as the 73001 Apollo sample container, is now set to be opened by researchers using a device designed by the European Space Agency (ESA). The effort is the first time the ESA will ...

HOUSTON, Texas -- Scientists at the Johnson Space Center this week opened a 50-year-old lunar soil sample they hope will teach them more about the moon and Earth ahead of NASA's upcoming return to ...

Technicians remove the sample canister from China's Chang'e 5 spacecraft, which returned moon dirt and rock to Earth in December 2020. (Image credit: National Astronomical Observatories, CAS) ...

Once orbiting Earth, the Chang'e 6 orbiter can dispatch the sample return canister, which is expected to drift back to Earth via parachute on June 25. RELATED STORIES: ...

A view from the Chang'e-5 lunar lander as the ascent vehicle lifts off on Dec. 3, with glare from the Sun. It will attempt rendezvous and docking Dec. 5. Credit: CNSA/CLEP HELSINKI — China will ...

Image of the Chang’e-5 sample “CE5C0400” from the Moon’s surface. This fraction of lunar materials returned to Earth by Chang’e-5 weighs nearly 35 grams and was collected by a robotic arm.

A lunar sample from the Apollo 17 of the 1972 mission has finally been opened this week at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. It’s one of the last unopened samples from the final Apollo ...

China's Chang'e-5, the first lunar sample return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, delivered 1.73 kilograms of regolith from the Oceanus Procellarum, a plane named for its vast size.