Lunar Sample Explorer
Returned material becomes most powerful when geological context and laboratory measurements work together. Compare sample types by the history they preserve, the laboratory methods they enable and the uncertainty they can reduce.
Curated returned-sample reference
The examples below are selected because they represent different geological questions and sample-return strategies. This is intentionally not a catalogue of every individual rock fragment.
| Mission | Site | Sample context | What it helps answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo 11 | Mare Tranquillitatis | Mare basalt Ancient mare volcanism | Helps constrain basaltic volcanism, mantle source composition and early calibration of lunar surface chronology. |
| Apollo 14 | Fra Mauro | Impact breccia Imbrium-related impact history | Supports interpretation of basin ejecta, impact mixing and the timing of major basin-forming events. |
| Apollo 15 | Hadley-Apennine | Volcanic glass Pyroclastic volcanism | Preserves evidence of explosive volcanic processes and volatile-bearing mantle-derived melts. |
| Apollo 16 | Descartes Highlands | Highland anorthosite Ancient crust | Constrains early crust formation and the lunar magma-ocean differentiation framework. |
| Apollo 17 | Taurus-Littrow | Orange volcanic glass-rich soil Pyroclastic deposit | Records volcanic fire-fountain activity and offers evidence about volatile species in lunar magmas. |
| Luna 16 | Mare Fecunditatis | Regolith Robotic sample return | Extended sample-return science beyond Apollo sites and demonstrated automated collection and return. |
| Luna 24 | Mare Crisium | Regolith core Subsurface stratigraphy | Provided a core-like sample preserving vertical context within the regolith and mare deposits. |
| Chang'e 5 | Northern Oceanus Procellarum | Young mare basalt and regolith Relatively young lunar volcanism | Improves calibration of crater-count chronology at ages much younger than most Apollo-returned volcanic rocks. |
| Chang'e 6 | South Pole-Aitken Basin far side | Far-side regolith and rock fragments Far-side basin geology | Provides returned material from the lunar far side, enabling laboratory comparison with near-side samples and South Pole-Aitken geology. |
Why context is essential
A radiometric age from a rock is not automatically the age of the entire landscape around it. Scientists need field relationships, orbital mapping, petrography and impact history to understand what geological event the measured age represents.
Why new sample-return sites still matter
Apollo and Luna returned material from a limited set of near-side locations. Chang'e missions have expanded the geographic and age range, including relatively young volcanic material and far-side samples. New sites help test whether chronology calibrated from older samples works across different terrains and periods.
Laboratory advantage
Returned samples can be reanalysed decades later with instruments that did not exist when the mission flew. That makes a curated sample collection a long-lived scientific resource rather than a one-time measurement.