China's space officials have invited global scientists to study lunar rock samples from the Chang’e 6 mission while noting that US collaboration remains restricted due to the Wolf Amendment.
At a televised news conference in Beijing, Bian Zhigang, vice chair of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), stated, “The source of the obstacle to US-China aerospace cooperation is still the Wolf Amendment.
If the US truly wants to hope to begin regular aerospace cooperation, I think they should take the appropriate measures to remove the obstacle.”
The 2011Wolf Amendment prohibits direct bilateral cooperation with NASA unless the FBI certifies there is no national security risk.
Despite this, China remains open to collaborating with scientists from other countries. Liu Yunfeng, director of the International Cooperation Office of CNSA, said, “China welcomes scientists from all countries to apply according to the processes and share in the benefits.”
The Chang’e-6 mission already saw cooperation with the European Space Agency, France, Italy, and Pakistan.
While the precise amount of lunar samples gathered and preliminary findings were not disclosed, Chinese officials indicated that more information would be available soon.
“I’m afraid this matter will not be revealed until tomorrow, so I hope everyone can wait patiently for another day,” said Hu Hao, chief designer of Chang’e-6.
The Chang’e-6 mission, which returned samples thought to include 2.5 million-year-old volcanic rock, aimed to collect two kilograms (more than four pounds) of material from the moon’s far side.
This historic mission marked the first time a probe successfully brought back samples directly from the far side of the moon, specifically from the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an ancient impact crater.
The far side of the moon, characterised by mountains and impact craters, poses significant challenges for exploration.
Previous samples believed to be from this region were meteorites found on Earth. The returned samples are expected to provide insights into the geological differences between the moon’s near and far sides and the events that shaped them over billions of years.
China’s space ambitions are not only ambitious but also driven by steadfast determination, aiming to pioneer future space exploration endeavours.
Upcoming missions include the Chang’e-7 probe, set to explore the moon’s South Pole. Following this, the Tianwen-3 mission, scheduled for around 2030, aims to retrieve samples from Mars, while the Tianwen-4 mission will concentrate on exploring Jupiter.
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