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