China hopes to collect billions of years old soil from the moon

Chinese scientists hope that the Chang'e-6 probe will bring to Earth samples of soil from the far side of the moon that are about 4 billion years old.

In an interview with reporters, Gui Ping, Deputy Director of the Center for Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering at the Chinese National Space Administration, indicated that if the Chang'e-6 probe mission, which was launched on Friday, May 3, 2024, is successful, it will, for the first time in human history, bring to Earth samples of... Soil of the other side of the moon.

He says: “The geological age of the lunar samples collected by the United States and the former Soviet Union is about 3 billion years. The geological age of the samples collected by the Chinese Chang’e-5 probe in 2020 is about 2 billion years. Now we expect that the Chang’e-5 probe will bring 6 samples that are about 4 billion years old.

He adds: "We believe that collecting lunar soil samples from different geological eras and from different regions of the Moon and studying them in the laboratory is of great value and importance so that all of humanity will obtain comprehensive and complete information about the Moon and a deep understanding of its history, structure, development, and even the origin of the solar system."

According to him, the primary goal of the Chang'e-6 probe mission is to bring about 2 kg of soil from the far side of the older Moon from its visible side from which all lunar soil samples were brought to Earth.

It is planned that the Chang'e-6 probe, whose mission will last 53 days, will land in the Aitken region at the south pole of the moon, which is an impact basin located to the south of its other side and is the largest known crater on the moon with a diameter of 2.4 thousand. to talk.