Weight of samples retrieved by Chang'e-6 to be revealed on Friday

BEIJING, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The weight of the 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 initial impressions of the lunar soil samples at a press conference held by the CNSA.

"The lunar soil samples from the moon's near side are fine and loose, while the samples from the far side appear to be different. So, we have higher expectations for the new lunar samples and hope that scientists will make new discoveries," Hu said.

Previous lunar sampling missions all collected samples from the moon's near side. The Chang'e-6 probe has successfully collected samples from the far side of the moon for the first time, which is expected to provide an opportunity for a more comprehensive understanding of the moon, said Li Chunlai, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e-6 mission.

The Chang'e-6 probe landed and collected samples in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin. The colossal SPA Basin was formed by a celestial impact over 4.3 billion years ago and has a diameter of 2,500 km and a depth of about 13 km. It is believed to be the largest impact crater found in the inner solar system so far.

The Chang'e-6 probe, comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner, was launched on May 3. Its returner carrying the samples touched down on Earth on Tuesday.