MBABANE: China will let scientists from six countries, including the US, examine the rocks it collected from the Moon-a scientific collaboration that comes as the two countries remain locked in a bitter trade war, the British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC) reported on Saturday morning.
Two Nasa-funded US institutions have been granted access to the lunar samples collected by the Chang\'e-5 mission in 2020, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Thursday.
CNSA chief Shan Zhongde said that the samples were \"a shared treasure for all humanity,\" local media reported.
Chinese researchers have not been able to access Nasa\'s Moon samples because of restrictions imposed by US lawmakers on the space agency\'s collaboration with China.
“Under the 2011 law, Nasa is banned from collaboration with China or any Chinese-owned companies unless it is specifically authorised by Congress.
But John Logsdon, the former Director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, told BBC Newshour that the latest exchange of Moon rocks have \"very little to do with politics\".
“While there are controls on space technology, the examination of lunar samples had \"nothing of military significance\", he said.
Chinese researchers can\'t access Nasa\'s moon samples because of restrictions from US lawmakers(Getty Images).