The China National Space Administration (CNCA) agreed to loan lunar samples to a group of research institutions, aiming to enhance scientific cooperation in space.
The agency has issued an approved list of lunar sample research applications, allowing advanced research institutions to borrow samples.
China's Chang'e-6 mission collected 1,935.3 grams of samples from the far side of the moon -- the first time in human history. Meanwhile, the Chang'e-5 mission retrieved about 1,731 grams of lunar samples.
A total of 30,881.8 milligrams of lunar samples will be lent to 32 research groups from 25 research institutions, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center under the China National Space Administration.
The list includes universities such as Macao University of Science and Technology in south China, Chengdu University of Technology in southwest China, east China's Donghua University, Harbin Institute of Technology in northeast China, south China's University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, among others.
This list also features institutions affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences.
In July 2021, China delivered the first batch of lunar samples to research institutions. So far, the country has lent eight batches of lunar samples to institutions for research purposes on the lunar surface, the age of volcanic activity, lunar evolution, and mineral and volatile composition.
