Chang'e 5 in the context of "Changesite-(Y)"

The geology of the Moon (sometimes called selenology, although the latter term can refer more generally to "lunar science") is the structure and composition of the Moon, which is quite different from that of Earth. The Moon lacks a true atmosphere outside of a sparse layer of gas. Because of this, the absence of free oxygen and water eliminates erosion due to weather. Instead, the surface is eroded much more slowly through the bombardment of the lunar surface by micrometeorites. It does not have any known form of plate tectonics, along with having a lower gravity compared to Earth. Because of its small size, it cooled faster in the early days of its formation. In addition to impacts, the geomorphology of the lunar surface has been shaped by volcanism, which is now thought to have ended less than 50 million years ago. The Moon is a differentiated body, with a crust, mantle, and core.

Geological studies of the Moon are based on a combination of Earth-based telescope observations, measurements from orbiting spacecraft, lunar samples, and geophysical data. Six locations were sampled directly during the crewed Apollo program landings from 1969 to 1972, which returned 382 kilograms (842 lb) of lunar rock and lunar soil to Earth. In addition, three robotic Soviet Luna spacecraft returned another 301 grams (10.6 oz) of samples, and the Chinese robotic Chang'e 5 returned a sample of 1,731 g (61.1 oz) in 2020.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is the national space agency of China. Headquartered in Haidian, Beijing, it is responsible for China's civil space programs and international space cooperation. The CNSA is a national bureau under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Founded in 1993, the CNSA has pioneered a number of achievements in space for China despite its relatively short history, including becoming the first space agency to land on the far side of the Moon with Chang'e 4, bringing material back from the Moon with Chang'e 5 and 6, and being the second agency who successfully landed a rover on Mars with Tianwen-1. Tianwen-2 is en route to explore the co-orbital near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa and the active asteroid 311P/PanSTARRS and collecting samples of the regolith of Kamo'oalewa.