China's Chang'e 5 probe returns to Earth with first new Moon rock samples in more than 40 years
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WedWednesday 16
DecDecember 2020 at 11:50pm
Two of the Chang'e 5's four modules set down on the Moon on December 1.
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A Chinese lunar capsule has returned to Earth with the first fresh samples of rock and debris from the Moon in more than 40 years.
Key points:
Chang'e collected about 2 kilograms of samples by scooping them from the surface and by drilling 2 metres into the Moon's crust
The rocks are thought to be billions of years younger than those obtained earlier by the US and former Soviet Union