Chang'e-6 lunar samples from moon's far side unveiled for first time

China

Chang'e-6 lunar samples from moon's far side unveiled for first time

2024-09-21 16:28 Last Updated At：22:27

The lunar samples collected by China's Chang'e-6 mission from the far side of the moon were unveiled for the first time on Saturday.

The samples, weighing a total of 1,935.3 grams, were retrieved by Chang'e-6 in June this year, marking the first time humans have obtained research samples directly from the moon's far side.

Earlier the week, a Chinese team of scientists published the first research paper on these lunar samples, saying that they exhibit "distinct characteristics" compared to previously obtained lunar samples.

The team found out 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. The Chang'e-6 samples also appear slightly lighter in color due to their different mineral composition.

"The Chang'e-6 lunar samples contain a significant amount of white material, including feldspar minerals, which are more abundant than in the Chang'e-5 samples. Additionally, there are significantly more glass fragments, contributing to a lighter overall appearance for the Chang'e-6 samples," said Li Chunlai, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e-6 mission and researcher with the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In the lunar sample laboratory, the surface samples have largely be separated and packaged. Experts explained that the process of unsealing, dividing, and preparing the samples for experimentation took approximately two months. "For the surface samples, we will separate any rock fragments larger than 1 millimeter. These larger samples may have originated from different locations, and their research methods differ from those used for powdered samples. The remaining powder samples, smaller than 1 millimeter, will be thoroughly mixed and packaged into 10-11 bottles, each containing approximately 150 grams," Li said.

In contrast, the processing of the drilled samples is more complex and is expected to take an additional one to two months. Researchers are currently handling the remaining samples in a nitrogen-filled unit.

"In terms of weight, the scooped samples make up the majority of the total 1935.3 grams, roughly 1610 grams, and the remaining is drilled samples. But a significant portion of these drilled is stuck to the sample bag and cannot be removed, complicating the determination of their exact weight. The drilled samples account for less than 20 percent of the total and are all contained within a single sample bag. We need to divide them into 1.5-centimeter segments to represent different depths. This process, which involves separating over 100 individual samples, requires extreme care. So, we may still need another month or two to finish the pre-processing," Li said.

The Chang'e-6 probe was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province on May 3, 2024. It touched down on the far side of the moon on June 2. During its two-day stay, Chang'e-6 used a scoop and drill, collecting nearly 2 kilograms of lunar material. On June 25, its returner brought back the samples and made a landing in north China.

Engineers share development story behind Beijing humanoid half-marathon champion model

Honor's humanoid robot, Lightning, which swept the 2026 Beijing E-Town Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon on Sunday, is a natural extension of years of accumulation in consumer electronics technology, said its developers.

A leading smart device provider in China, Honor independently developed the model, which dominated the podium at the event as it was used by all three teams whose autonomous navigating robots ran the fastest times.

At the Honor factory in Pingshan District in Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province, where robotics engineers developed Lightning. They said the robot's body design incorporates a simulation system that, through artificial intelligence algorithms, can iterate nearly 30,000 design schemes of varying sizes over three months. Complete and mature systems are also in place for battery, communication, and reliability verification.

"We built a simulation lab from scratch. For the robots, we digitize the entire design and put it into a computer. We have our own material library, which can meet the force, thermal, and chemical property demands for each component, under different environments and speeds. We've accumulated about 1000 kinds of materials. For example, if there's a risk with the robot's neck, we just need to change the material code from 001 to 002. Now, through our simulations, we only need one day to perform parallel calculations on 10 different designs, before creating a mold and verifying it in the lab," said Li Zheng, a senior engineer at Honor.

An autonomous robot capable of completing a half-marathon involves a complete industry chain, with core components including high-precision sensors, LiDAR, motors, operating systems, and control algorithms. The development of robotic marathoners have driven an increasing number of component enterprises to get involved.

Manifold, a tech firm established by newly-graduated PhDs, has developed a 3D spatial memory module, which can model an environment in real time and transform it into images that robots can understand. They said several robots running the half-marathon this year adopted their solution.

"Our device can operate within a one-kilometer tunnel with an error margin of only tens of centimeters. For robots, especially in the absence of GPS, this allows them to accurately determine their location. The underlying technology is a multi-sensor fusion technology that we developed in-house," said Qin Youming, CEO and founder of Manifold.

The Beijing Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center set up a training camp for the marathon event. Many university students came a month ahead of the event to develop and debug their technologies and algorithms based on open-source robot bodies, databases, and training platforms.

"These high-quality databases and highly open-source control algorithms are actually very helpful to us. We no longer need to build the house from the ground up, but can skip the most basic part," said Sun Jingyu, a student from Shandong University.

"Through this racing event, I believe we can make our robots more reliable and stable, while also supporting high-dynamic, high-load movements. This is crucial for robots' future application in both industrial, commercial and domestic scenarios," said Guo Yijie, head of the innovative humanoid department and the Marathon project of Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center.