Hong Kong team behind Chang’e 5 moon rock sampling set sights on Chang’e 6

PolyU researchers who developed the scoops and container for China’s lunar mission are relieved after surface and soil samples are returned to Earth

They will assess whether any improvements are needed for the next mission, and hope to be given a quantity of Chang’e 5’s samples for research

Reading Time:2 minutes

Professor Yung Kai-leung and his PolyU colleagues developed the surface sampling and packing system used in China’s Chang’e 5 lunar mission. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 8:00am, 18 Dec 2020Updated: 8:00am, 18 Dec 2020

The Hong Kong researchers at the centre of China’s mission to collect lunar rock samples said they felt a “big relief” after the arrival of the samples back on Earth on Thursday, but they added that their space quest was far from over.

The research team at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, led by Professor Yung Kai-leung, developed the sampling scoops and sealed container used by the Chang’e 5 mission to collect and bring back surface soil and rocks from the moon – the first collection of lunar samples for more than four decades.

“The [Chang’e 5] mission has ended, but not our project … We will compare the data collected on the moon with our design parameters and evaluate any improvements that may be needed to our design for the Chang’e 6 mission,” Yung said in a press conference on Thursday at the university campus.

Chang’e 6, China’s next lunar mission, is expected to launch in 2023 or 2024, and will again feature the Hong Kong-developed sampling system.

01:28

China’s Chang’e 5 lunar mission returns to Earth with moon samples

The 2kg of surface samples and a further 500 grams of underground samples brought back by the return capsule, which landed in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, were due to be unpackaged in a special facility in Beijing to prevent contamination.

Yung expressed hope that PolyU would have the chance to obtain a quantity of the samples for scientific research, and called for support from Hong Kong’s government and public to set up the necessary facilities and research teams.

Hong Kong team behind Chang’e 5 moon rock sampling set sights on Chang’e 6

PolyU researchers who developed the scoops and container for China’s lunar mission are relieved after surface and soil samples are returned to Earth They will assess whether any improvements are needed for the next mission, and hope to be given a quantity of Chang’e 5’s samples for research

PolyU researchers who developed the scoops and container for China’s lunar mission are relieved after surface and soil samples are returned to Earth

They will assess whether any improvements are needed for the next mission, and hope to be given a quantity of Chang’e 5’s samples for research