A collaboration team of Chinese scientists released the first research article studying farside lunar samples achieved by Chang'e-6 spacecraft. It was published on Monday in an open-access scientific journal website, National Science Review, according to the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Titled "Nature of the lunar farside samples returned by the Chang'E-6 mission," the research unveils the physical, mineralogical, petrographic and geochemical properties of these samples.

The team found that the Chang'e-6 soil samples have a lower density than previous samples, indicating a more porous and loosely structured composition. The plagioclase content of the Chang'e-6 samples is significantly higher than that of the Chang'e-5 samples, while their olivine content is significantly lower.

The study has also revealed that the Chang'e-6 lithic fragment samples are primarily composed of basalt, breccia, agglutinate, glasses and leucocrate.

Geochemical analysis of the Chang'e-6 lunar samples has shown that their concentration of trace elements such as thorium, uranium and potassium is markedly different from the samples retrieved by the Apollo missions and the Chang'e-5 mission.

Analyzing these samples will help study key aspects of lunar science, such as the moon's early evolution, the variability of volcanic activities between the nearside and farside, and the impact history of the inner solar system, according to the research.

This research is composed by a group of leading Chinese space science researchers, including Li Chunlai from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hu Hao, chief designer of the Chang'e-6 mission, and Yang Mengfei from the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering.

Launched on May 3 and returned on June 25 this year, China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe brought back 1,935.3 grams of samples, collected from the far side of the moon for the first time in human history.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover image via CFP)