An analysis of moon rocks brought back to Earth by China's Chang'e-5 mission suggests the samples are a new type of lunar basalt, different from those collected during previous Apollo and Luna missions.
These rice seeds traveled more than 760,000 kilometers to the moon last November and returned to Earth on Dec. 17 after 23 days of flight aboard China's Chang'e 5 lunar probe.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met representatives of space scientists and engineers who participated in the research and development of the Chang'e-5 lunar mission at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday.
A lunar day is equal to about 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is of the same length. The solar-powered probe switches to dormant mode during the lunar night.
A Chinese spacecraft carrying the country's first lunar samples blasted off from the moon late Thursday, the China National Space Administration announced.