A panorama returned by the Chang’e-5 lander, showing robotic sampling arm and scoop marks in lunar regolith. Credit: CNSA/CLEP
NASA currently has no plans to trade any of its Apollo-era lunar samples with those returned by China’s Chang’e-5 mission, although then agency’s chief scientist held out hope for such an exchange in the future.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group Aug. 31, Jim Green said that the restrictions in U.S. law on bilateral cooperation between NASA and Chinese organizations ruled out, for the time being, any exchange of lunar samples between the two nations.
NASA has no plans to exchange lunar samples with China – SpaceNews
