CNN —The government of China now possesses something that no other humans have ever encountered — rocks and soil from the far side of the moon. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told CNN he’s “pleased to hear CNSA intends to share” the materials collected by the Chang’e-6 lunar probe last month. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, shown here during a pre-launch news conference on Boeing's first crewed spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner, on May 3, said he's "pleased" China intends to share the lunar far side samples. China opened those samples to international scientists for the first time last August, and Nelson has given NASA-funded researchers the green light to apply for access. TheUS government has not landed a robotic spacecraft on the moon since 1968, but NASA is currently funding the development of lunar landers by private companies through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS program.

---

Persons: ”, Liu Yunfeng, Bill Nelson, CNN he’s “, CNSA, ” Nelson, he's, Miguel J, Rodriguez Carrillo, Bian Zhigang, Nelson, Artemis, Joel Kowsky, Artemis III, Odie Organizations: CNN, NASA, China National Space Administration, Boeing, AFP, Getty, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Apollo, Soviet, Soviet Union —, “, Beijing, Orion, Kennedy Space Center, NASA NASA, SpaceX, Payload Services, Astrobotic Technologies Locations: China, United States, Beijing, Soviet Union, Nelson, Florida