Lunar Dirt By The Gram?

Back in December, China’s successful lunar lander, Chang’e-5, returned with a “cache” of 17 grams of lunar soil–that’s like only 3.5 teaspoons!  Well, hell…only three and a half teaspoons?  I put more sugar in my morning coffee!  But I digress.

The batch of 17 grams of lunar soil was handed out to 13 research institutions (a little more than one gram each) with the goal of determining if lunar soil is habitable.

Directions for the scientific research will mainly involve the lunar surfacing process, lunar volcanic activities, and the Moon’s evolution. That’s a lot to get out of so little!  The researchers will probe into subjects untouched by previous Soviet Union and US researchers on the habitability of the moon–all from a little more than a gram?  These scientists must be very creative….and though we look at the moon’s surface with telescopes, apparently, they will be looking at the moon’s surface through microscopes!