BEIJING -- China has released the information of the third batch of lunar samples brought back by the country's Chang'e 5 mission.

Public users can log on to the website of China's Lunar and Deep Space Exploration (www.clep.org.cn) to check for the related information of the 15 new samples and submit applications for research.

The Chang'e 5 probe returned to Earth on Dec 17, 2020, retrieving a total of 1,731 grams of lunar samples, mainly rocks and soil from the moon's surface.

China delivered the first batch of lunar samples, weighing about 17 grams, to 13 institutions in July. And later in October, the second batch weighing about 17.9 grams was distributed to scientists from 17 research institutions.