A total of 1,935.3 grams of lunar samples were retrieved by China's Chang'e 6 robotic probe from the moon's far side, the China National Space Administration announced on Friday morning, as the space authority handed over the scientifically invaluable substances to scientists.

周五上午，中国国家航天局宣布，嫦娥六号探测器成功从月球远端带回了总重1935.3克的月球土壤样本，并将这些珍贵的科学物质正式移交给科学家团队进行深入研究。

The weight of the samples, the most asked question by science and space enthusiasts over the past two days, was revealed by the CNSA at a handover ceremony at its Beijing headquarters.

在北京总部举行的交接仪式上，航天局详细披露了样本的重量，这也是近期广大科学和太空爱好者们最为关心的问题。

Placed in a special container, lunar dust was handed over at the ceremony by Zhang Kejian, head of the administration, to Ding Chibiao, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

国家航天局局长张克俭在仪式上，将封装在特殊容器中的月球土壤，郑重地移交给了中国科学院副院长丁赤飙。

The samples have been transported to a lunar sample lab in Beijing, where the substances will be stored and initially processed, said the CNSA.

据航天局透露，这些月球样品已安全抵达北京的月球样品实验室，并将在那里进行妥善储存和初步处理。

The samples, the first materials recovered from the moon's far side, have unique scientific value and will further expand humans' knowledge of the moon's history and help to gear up the exploration and exploitation of lunar resources, the administration said, noting that they are a "shared treasure" of humanity.

此次采集的月球远端样本，具有极高的科学价值，它们的出现将为我们揭开月球历史的更多奥秘，进一步推动月球资源的勘探与开发。航天局还指出，这些样本是人类的共同财富。

Ge Ping, one of the senior space officials overseeing the nation's lunar programs, said after the ceremony that the samples appear to be "thicker and stickier" than those recovered from the moon's near side — which always faces Earth — and there are some"lumps" contained within.

仪式结束后，负责监督国家月球计划的高级航天官员葛平表示，这些月球样本与近侧采集的样本有所不同，它们“更厚、更粘”，并含有一些独特的“肿块”。

"Next, researchers at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences will unseal the container and then divide them. After preparatory work, scientists can access the samples in accordance with our lunar sample management regulation," Ge told reporters. "We expect systematic scientific analyses and studies will lead to new findings."

葛平进一步透露：“接下来，中国科学院国家天文台的研究人员将开启容器的封条，进行样本的分割工作。一旦准备就绪，科学家将根据我国月球样品管理条例，有序地取用这些样品进行研究。我们期待这次系统的科学分析能带来全新的发现。”

According to the official, the first group of lunar samples will be available for access by domestic researchers around the end of 2024. The samples will also be accessible to foreign scientists in due course in the near future, he added.

据国家航天局探月工程与航天工程中心副主任葛平介绍，首批月球样品预计将在2024年底左右供国内科研人员使用。他还透露，未来这些样本也将适时向国际科学界开放。

The Chang'e 6 mission, representing the world's first samples brought from the far side of the moon back to Earth, was launched by a Long March 5 heavy-lift carrier rocket on May 3 from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province.

嫦娥六号任务于5月3日在海南省文昌航天发射中心由长征五号重型运载火箭成功发射。此次任务实现了人类历史上首次从月球远端带回样本的壮举。

The 8.35-ton spacecraft consisted of four components — an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a reentry capsule. After a host of complex, challenging steps, the lander touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, on the morning of June 2.

该飞船重达8.35吨，由轨道器、着陆器、上升器和返回舱四个部分组成。经过一系列精密操作，着陆器于6月2日上午成功降落在月球远侧的南极-艾特肯盆地，这是太阳系中已知的最大撞击坑之一。

The landing marked the second time a spacecraft has visited the lunar far side.

此次着陆标志着人类航天器第二次造访月球远侧。

The vast region had never been reached by any spacecraft until January 2019, when the Chang'e 4 probe landed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin. The Chinese probe and its rover surveyed areas surrounding its landing site, but did not collect and bring back any samples.

在此之前，仅有中国的嫦娥四号探测器在2019年1月成功降落在南极-艾特肯盆地，但当时并未采集和带回样本。

The Chang'e 6 lander worked for 49 hours on the moon's far side, using a mechanical arm and a drill to collect surface and underground materials. Meanwhile, several scientific devices were activated to conduct survey and analysis assignments.

嫦娥六号着陆器在月球远侧工作了49个小时，期间利用机械臂和钻头采集了地表和地下物质。同时，多台科学设备也启动运行，执行了详尽的勘测和分析任务。

After the tasks were completed, the sample-loaded ascender lifted off from the lunar surface and reached lunar orbit to dock with the reentry capsule to transfer the samples.

任务完成后，装载着样本的上升器从月球表面升空，与轨道上的返回舱成功对接，并顺利将样本转移至返回舱。

In the final leg of the mission, the orbiter and the reentry capsule flew back to Earth's orbit before separating above the atmosphere. The reentry capsule successfully touched down at its preset landing site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Tuesday.

在返回地球的飞行过程中，轨道器和返回舱飞回地球轨道，随后在大气层上方分离。最终，返回舱于本周二在内蒙古自治区的预定着陆点安全着陆。

Before this mission, all lunar substances on Earth were collected from the near side of the moon through the United States' six Apollo manned landings, the former Soviet Union's three Luna robotic missions and China's Chang'e 5 unmanned mission.

在此之前，地球上所有的月球物质均来源于美国的六次阿波罗载人着陆、前苏联的三次月球机器人任务以及中国的嫦娥五号无人任务，它们均从月球近侧采集样本。而嫦娥六号的成功，无疑为人类对月球的探索开启了新的篇章。