The Chang'e-6 mission, launched on May 3, 2023, successfully landed on the Moon on June 2 and returned to Earth on June 25, bringing back 1,935.3 grams of lunar soil from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin.

This mission marks the first successful sample-return from the lunar farside, specifically targeting the SPA basin to address the lunar dichotomy.

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is the first university in Hong Kong to possess lunar samples from the Chang'e-5 mission and aims to further study samples from Chang'e-6.

Research indicates that lunar igneous activities reveal significant information about the Moon's interior and thermal state, with a notable asymmetry between the nearside and farside.

The study identified widespread intrusive magmatism in the SPA basin, including sills, dikes, and Mg-suite intrusions.

These findings suggest that the Chang'e-6 mission likely collected plutonic rocks at its landing site, which could inform ongoing sample analyses.

Potential Mg-suite materials were identified in the Chang'e-6 samples, which may provide insights into the origin of KREEP-poor Mg-suite rocks.

This research enhances understanding of lunar geology and is expected to inform future studies on the Moon's crust and early evolution.

Professor Xianhua Li from the Chinese Academy of Sciences emphasized the importance of this research for understanding the petrogenesis of Mg-suite rocks.

The study lays a significant geological framework for analyzing plutonic rocks from the Chang'e-6 mission, particularly regarding their petrogenesis and timing.

Dr. Yuqi Qian and colleagues from HKU published a study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters focusing on the intrusive magmatism at the Chang'e-6 landing site.

The research utilized remote sensing data to reveal the extensive distribution of intrusive magmatism in the SPA basin, suggesting that such activities are common in the area.