SpaceMiningData
SpacecraftMoonEnded

Chang'e-6

Chinese lunar far-side sample-return mission launched on 3 May 2024 that landed in the South Pole-Aitken basin on 2 June 2024 and returned 1,935.3 grams on 25 June 2024. A 2025 peer-reviewed study of impact glass beads in the returned soil measured solar-wind-derived water abundances of roughly 10 to 1,070 micrograms per gram.

Objective. Return samples from the lunar far side; the resource finding (water stored in impact glass beads) comes from later peer-reviewed analysis.

Listed for scientific context. This mission published a resource finding but is not counted as a resource mission.

Sampled

Facts

Kind
Spacecraft
Mission type
Sample return
Target
MoonApollo basin within the South Pole-Aitken basin, lunar far side
Launch
2024-05-03
Launch vehicle
Long March 5
Phase
EndedCNSA/Xinhua timeline (2024-06-26) and sample-mass release (2024-06-28).
Outcome
SuccessBasis: agency statement
Why it is included
Published resource finding (science context)

Outcome statement (agency statement)

China's Chang'e-6 mission collected 1,935.3 grams of samples from the far side of the moon, preliminary measurement by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) showed Friday.

Participants

Operators, payload owners, carriers and customers are recorded separately.

OrganizationRole
China National Space AdministrationOperator

Resources and evidence

ResourceEvidence
RegolithSampled
VolatilesDetected

Open evidence gaps

  • 'Apollo basin' comes from peer-reviewed literature (PNAS 2025) rather than the CNSA timeline, which says only 'South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin'.

Sources

5 sources
  1. [1]China's Chang'e-6 collects 1,935.3 grams of samples from moon's far side
    CNSA (Xinhua)Government recordPublished 2024-06-28Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: outcome, resources
    China's Chang'e-6 mission collected 1,935.3 grams of samples from the far side of the moon, preliminary measurement by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) showed Friday.
    Quote matched the source text when accessed.
  2. [2]About China's lunar mission: Timeline of Chang'e-6 mission
    CNSA (Xinhua)Government recordPublished 2024-06-26Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: launch date, launch vehicle
    The Chang'e-6 probe was launched by a Long March-5 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on May 3.
    Quote matched the source text when accessed.
  3. [3]About China's lunar mission: Timeline of Chang'e-6 mission
    CNSA (Xinhua)Government recordPublished 2024-06-26Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: target site, summary
    successfully landed at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on June 2
    Quote matched the source text when accessed.
  4. [4]Lunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beads (Nature Communications 2025)
    Nature Communications (via PubMed Central)Peer-reviewedPublished 2025-05-29Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: inclusion basis
    Water is the one of most precious resources for planetary utilisation.
    Quote matched the source text when accessed.
  5. [5]Lunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beads (Nature Communications 2025)
    Nature Communications (via PubMed Central)Peer-reviewedPublished 2025-05-29Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: resources, summary
    we report the water abundances and hydrogen isotope compositions and their distribution in farside IGBs collected by the Chang'e-6 mission
    Quote matched the source text when accessed.