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Analysis of samples collected by a Chinese mission found basalt (volcanic rock formed after an eruption) fragments dating back more than 4.2 billion years. The findings were published in the Nature and Science journals on Friday. While scientists already knew of volcanic activity on the near side of the moon, which we can see from Earth, the "dark side" is very different in its geology, and remains largely unexplored. The rock and dust samples - the first to be retrieved from the far side of the Moon - were collected by the Chang’e-6 spacecraft, following a nearly two-month long mission...

China has become the first country to gather samples from the far side of the moon and bring them back to Earth in a landmark achievement for the Beijing space programme. A re-entry capsule containing the precious cargo parachuted into a landing zone in the rural Siziwang Banner region of Inner Mongolia on Tuesday after being released into Earth’s orbit by the uncrewed Chang’e-6 probe....The mission’s lander spent two days collecting rock and soil from one of the oldest and largest craters on the moon, the 1,600-mile-wide South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin...

To start the week, a few thoughts on the passing scene: ~So what else is going on? Oh, look... China's Chang'e-6 mission lander made a successful soft landing on the far side of the moon late Saturday and will soon begin collecting unique lunar samples. Has the moon signed up for Peking's Belt & Road Initiative yet? Give it another three months. ~Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth: Officials with the US Central Command first brought up the option of building a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza in late October, the senior administration official told CNN. The risks however...

China plans to launch an ambitious asteroid exploration mission and has invited collaborators to put their experiments on the probes, space agency officials said Thursday. The 10-year mission will involve a probe sent to a near-Earth asteroid to collect samples, said Liu Jizhong, head of China's Exploration and Space Engineering Centre. After the sample collection from the 2016 HO3 asteroid, the probe will return to Earth orbit where it will split into two. A capsule carrying the samples will return to Earth's surface, while a separate module will approach and orbit the comet 133P. A similar call was made for...