Ep. 791: Chang'e Sample Return

Ep. 791: Chang'e Sample Return

From 365 Days of Astronomy - Weekly Edition by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela L. Gay

April 27, 2026 · 1h 0m

About this episode

The episode discusses China's Chang’e sample return program and its implications for future lunar missions.

Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Streamed live on Apr 20, 2026. Last week we talked about samples from other worlds delivered to Earth by meteorites. But sometimes you’ve gotta do the job yourself. Visit the far off place and bring the samples home. And today we’re gonna talk about China’s Chang’e sample return program. How they’ve delivered rocks from different parts of the Moon, and how this sets the stage for their upcoming human lunar missions. The Chinese space program is step by step testing the technologies necessary for humanity to return to the surface of the Moon. From orbiting comms satellites, to landing sample return missions, the Chang`e missions are exploring new places in new ways. In today's episode, we discuss the Chang`e 6 sample return. This show is supported through people like you on Patreon.com/AstronomyCast In this episode, we'd like to thank: Andrew Poelstra, Burry Gowen, David, David Rossetter, Ed, Eric Lee, Gerhard Schwarzer, Jason Kwong, Jeanette Wink, Joe McTee, Michael Purcell, Sergey Manouilov, Siggi Kemmler

People in this episode

Hosts: Fraser Cain, Dr. Pamela L. Gay

Topics covered

  • Chang'e sample return
  • Chinese space program
  • Moon exploration
  • sample return missions
  • lunar missions

Keywords

  • Chang'e
  • sample return
  • Moon
  • Chinese space program
  • lunar missions
  • space exploration
  • meteorites

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Chang’e, Chinese space program

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