Astronomy Cast Ep. 791: Chang'e Sample Return
4/27/202633 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 791: Chang'e Sample Return By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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...
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First 90 secondsFraser Cain· Host0:00
[ on-hold music] Astronomy Cast, episode 791: Chang'e Sample Return. Welcome to Astronomy Cast, our weekly facts-based journey through the cosmos, where we help you understand not only what we know, but how we know what we know. I'm Fraser Cain. I'm the publisher of Universe Today. With me, as always, is Dr. Pamela Gay, a senior scientist for the Planetary Science Institute and the director of CosmoQuest. Hey, Pamela. How you doing?
Pamela Gay· Host1:09
I am doing well. How are you doing?
Fraser Cain· Host1:12
Good. I am doing well as well. Uh- [laughs] We are both, uh, enjoying the spring- Yes ... and getting out there with our, uh, with our saws and our, uh, clippers and our lawnmowers and starting to process nature, bring it back into the fold.
Unknown speaker1:29
[sighs]