Characteristics of the lunar samples returned by the Chang’E-5 mission

TLDR

After 45 years since the Apollo and Luna missions, China’s Chang’E‑5 mission returned new lunar samples from the mid‑latitude northeastern Oceanus Procellarum. CE‑5 lunar soils are fine (95 % of particles 1.40–9.35 µm, 95 % of mass 4.84–432.27 µm), have bulk density 1.24 g cm⁻³, true density 3.20 g cm⁻³, specific surface area 0.56 m² g⁻¹, consist mainly of low‑Ti/low‑Al/low‑K mare basalt clasts, and exhibit high FeO with low Mg index, indicating a new basalt class.

Abstract

Abstract Forty-five years after the Apollo and Luna missions returned lunar samples, China's Chang’E-5 (CE-5) mission collected new samples from the mid-latitude region in the northeastern Oceanus Procellarum of the Moon. Our study shows that 95% of CE-5 lunar soil sizes are found to be within the range of 1.40–9.35 μm, while 95% of the soils by mass are within the size range of 4.84–432.27 μm. The bulk density, true density and specific surface area of CE-5 soils are 1.2387 g/cm3, 3.1952 g/cm3 and 0.56 m2/g, respectively. Fragments from the CE-5 regolith are classified into igneous clasts (mostly basalt), agglutinate and glass. A few breccias were also found. The minerals and compositions of CE-5 soils are consistent with mare basalts and can be classified as low-Ti/low-Al/low-K type with lower rare-earth-element contents than materials rich in potassium, rare earth element and phosphorus. CE-5 soils have high FeO and low Mg index, which could represent a new class of basalt.