The lander-ascender combination of Chang’e 5 robotic lunar probe completed collecting lunar samples and packing them in an empty container on December 2nd. [Photo provided to China Daily]
China’s space agency will cooperate with other countries, based on the principles of equity and shared benefits, on the lunar terrestrial samples collected by Chang’e 5, China’s National Space Administration said Thursday.
Xu Hongliang, a spokesman for the administration, said at a press conference issued by the State Council Intelligence Office that this is the first time in 44 years that humanity has recovered earth samples from the moon, so there are so many of space agencies around the world paying close attention to the feat.
Many foreign space agencies have sent congratulatory letters to China and expressed their desire to conduct joint research.
“We are very welcoming (of joint research),” Xu said.
China’s National Space Administration has signed more than 140 cooperation agreements with more than 40 countries, and is actively participating in 18 international organizations.
“The lunar sample is human shared finance. We are willing to cooperate with international peers on the basis of equity and shared benefits,” he said, adding that organizations in China issuing instructions on how to analyze and share samples.
Wu Yanhua, deputy director of the China National Space Administration, said China is willing to cooperate friendly and sincere with the United States, but NASA and other U.S. official bodies have been barred from cooperating with the U.S. their Chinese ages since 2011.
“Whether co-operation depends on US government policy,” he said.
Wu said the lunar earth samples will be used in three ways: research, museum exhibits and be shared with international peers or given as gifts to heads of state and nobles. But research is the most important and fundamental use of the valuable samples, he said.
Li Chunlai, a researcher from the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the samples collected by China from a new excavation site on the moon make them one-of-a-kind samples in the study the geological evolution of the moon. .