Beijing: China has approved the ninth batch of applications from research institutions to borrow lunar samples returned by its Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6 Moon missions, state media reported Monday. The Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, operating under the China National Space Administration, released the list of approved applications, as reported by state-run Xinhua News Agency.

According to Anadolu Agency, a total of 30,881.8 milligrams of lunar samples will be distributed to 32 research groups from 25 research institutions. The Chang'e-6 mission made history by collecting 1,935.3 grams of samples from the Moon's far side, while the Chang'e-5 mission retrieved about 1,731 grams of lunar samples.

Since July 2021, China has been lending lunar samples to institutions for research purposes, with this being the ninth batch of approvals. Last month, China unveiled a series of research findings from the Chang'e-6 mission samples, covering areas such as volcanic activity, the Moon's ancient magnetic field, water content, and geochemical characteristics of the moon mantle.