China Lends Chang'e-5 Moon Samples To Two US Universities
JAKARTA China and the US remain in good relations in the field of science even though the trade tariff war is heating up. This collaboration has been confirmed directly by the Chinese space agency.
China's National Space Agency (CNSA), citing Spacenews reports, said it received requests from two universities in the US. The two universities want to borrow a small fraction of the lunar samples taken through the Chang'e-5 mission.
This loan request is part of the celebration of 10th Space Day in Shanghai, China on April 24. The country opened a round of submissions as well as celebrated an agreement ceremony for the country, especially institutions, which submitted requests.
There are seven universities from six countries that submitted requests to CNSA, including the US, Japan, Germany, England, France, and Pakistan. Two of them are Brown University and Stony Brook University who are from the US and receive direct funding from NASA.
This is not the first time the US has applied for a loan to examine the samples China has collected. In November 2023, when CNSA opened a request for a sample loan for another country, NASA said that a number of researchers were allowed to apply for a loan.
However, the US still has to follow the old rules that limit cooperation between the two institutions. At least, the opening of this period could bring the US closer to the Chang'e-5 sample.
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The Chang'e-5 rover managed to collect 1,731 grams of samples from the Oceanus Procellarum area on the near side of the Moon. This sample was taken using a shovel and drill around the end of 2020.
The opening of the loan period was first opened in 2023 because China prioritized domestic research. After researchers and Chinese institutions finished examining the samples collected, new international demand was allowed with some restrictions.
While other countries will examine the Chang'e-5 mission sample, China is researching other samples from the far side of the moon. Collected in 2024, the Chang'e-6 mission managed to collect 1,935.3 grams of samples from the Apollo Crater. This is the first sample from the far side of the moon.