Rare Moon dust has arrived in the UK from China

The Moon dust was collected five years ago

The first samples of rock from the Moon brought back to Earth from a Chinese lunar mission in 2020 have arrived in the UK.

The tiny grains, which have been described as "more precious than gold dust", are the first samples drilled from the Moon in nearly 50 years.

They've now been offered to the UK on loan by China's space agency.

Scientist Mahesh Anand was chosen to receive the samples so he and his team can carry out research on the super rare material.

He's just one of seven experts from around the world selected to study the samples.

Professor Mahesh Anand travelled to China to collect the samples and bring them back to the UK

"Nobody in the world had access to China's samples, so this is a great honour and a huge privilege," said professor Mahesh Anand who travelled to China to collect the samples.

He returned to the UK with the precious cargo in the safest place he could think of - his hand luggage.

Professor Mahesh Anand and his team have a year to carry out their research on the dust.

During that time, the researchers hope to answer fundamental questions about how the Moon formed and the early years of planet Earth.

How was the sample collected?

Professor Mahesh Anand and his team hope to discover more about the Moon through their research

China collected the rocks on its Chang'e 5 space mission back in 2020.

A robotic arm drilled into the soil to collect 2kg of material which was then brought back to Earth in a capsule.

It was the first successful collection of a lunar sample since a Soviet mission in 1976 and China has now allowed researchers from other countries to find out more about the rare rock.

"I very much hope that this is the beginning of a long-term collaboration between China and international scientists," Professor Anand said.