Scientists believe samples may help create a timeline showing bombardment of Earth by celestial bodies, including the event that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Phosphate mineral Changesite-(Y) was isolated using a series of processes, including X-ray diffraction, according to China National Nuclear Corporation, making China the third nation to discover a lunar mineral.

Analysis of soil brought back to Earth suggests part of the answer is in the moon’s interior.

Space official says scientists will look at near-Earth asteroids over the next few years and aim for the most threatening.

The YF-79 will be one of the world’s most powerful when completed and is on schedule for whole-of-machine testing in 2022.

The presence of water had been confirmed by remote observation but the lander has now detected signs of the H20 molecule in rocks and soil.

Concerns over US Artemis Accords programme for moon explorations may be behind uncharacteristic rush from the Chinese side, scientists behind project say.

Access to results of research on publicly funded missions limited in China, scientists says.

It will include joint programmes and exchanges between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and French space and science agencies.

Experiments were carried out using a small reactor during one of China’s lunar missions, and researchers have designed a solar-powered device to release oxygen from lunar soil.

The samples of basalt rock were formed by a volcanic eruption almost a billion years after samples collected by US and Soviet missions were formed

Vehicle will be designed to take crews to the moon and explore deeper into space.

The 220 tonne engine will power the next generation Long March 9 rocket and testing is expected to be completed this year.

It may be a relative newcomer to space exploration, but China is hoping its young engineers and commanders can lead it to infinity and beyond.

Previous cooperation in space was possible because no territory was at stake. The lunar ambitions of the three space powers have raised the stakes.

The 38-year-old Mohan is among a group of Indian women who have found successful careers in space science, including Tessy Thomas, Ritu Karidhal Srivastava and Muthayya Vanitha.

Spacecraft has travelled 1.43 million km in a month and will arrive at its desired location in March, deputy chief designer says.

The National Space Administration’s regulation on how samples will be managed encourages global scientific cooperation.

The country is planning 40 rocket launches this year, the highest ever total, as it continues to expand its presence in space.

Probe has travelled more than 400 million km so far and is likely to touch down in May, space agency says.

Astronauts are already in training and construction of module and rocket launcher has been completed.

Space administration hands samples over to the National Astronomical Observatories which has built a new laboratory to study them.

Space Force chief Jay Williams says United States wants to deter conflict starting in or extending to space.

PolyU team who developed scoops and container for China’s lunar craft to assess whether adjustments are needed for the next mission, as samples arrive on Earth.

Wearable machines make it easier for workers to trudge through Inner Mongolian snows, set up communication centre.

Billing the rivalry as market vs state may be an oversimplification, with China’s R&D spend increasingly market-driven as it seeks to incentivise innovation.

‘Outer space resources are the common wealth of all mankind,’ Wu Yanhua, deputy director of the China National Space Administration, says.

Chinese probe completed its 23-day-long space mission and landed in Siziwang Banner of the Inner Mongolia region, said Xinhua.

The rest of the spacecraft is returning to Earth with rock samples but the lander is thought to have met its designed end.

The spacecraft is now 100 million km from earth and is due to reach the Red Planet in February.

Recent space missions have budgets ranging from US$200 million to US$2.5 billion. The public have a right to know about the risks of failure and debate how resources are to be prioritised in terms of earthly problems and heavenly ambitions.

In a complex manoeuvre, the lunar probe linked up with the orbiter and transferred rock and soil

The probe is expected to land in Inner Mongolia in less than two weeks, with 2kg of samples from the lunar surface and underground.

Latest lunar expedition is a milestone for the Chinese space programme and has reignited a long-dormant race for the stars.