CHINA'S SPACE MISSIONS BREAK NEW GROUND

Lunar samples, mineral discovery and experience for future missions among gains

Chinese scientists have made major advances in the research of Earth's nearest celestial neighbor, the moon, thanks to samples and data gathered by China's lunar probes.

In the latest development, water locked in glass beads has been found in lunar samples returned by the Chang'e 5 mission.

A study published in Nature Geoscience journal late last month revealed that the soil samples collected by Chang'e 5 had impact glass beads that contained water in the form of hydroxyl, a molecule consisting of one atom of oxygen and one of hydrogen.