The 16th Airshow China will feature lunar samples from the Moon's near and far sides.

The 16th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China) will feature lunar samples from both the Moon's near and distant sides.

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The 16th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, commonly called Airshow China, will feature lunar samples from the moon's near and far sides, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) announced on Tuesday. At a press conference in Beijing to unveil the exhibition's specifics, SASTIND official Yi Lin stated that visitors can closely study the differences between the lunar samples returned by Chang'e-5 from the near side of the moon and Chang'e-6 from the far side of the moon. Zhuhai, a seaside city in the Guangdong Province of south China, will host the airshow from December 7 to December 13.

The size of this year's airshow has been increased, with an inside exhibition area of 135,000 square meters, according to Zhang Hu, executive deputy governor of Guangdong. It is anticipated that around 3,000 items of equipment will be on show, with roughly 10% of them being new. In the primary exhibition area, about 170 aircraft will be on display and more than 1,100 businesses from around 50 nations and regions have registered for the exhibition.

This year three exhibition areas will be used, an unmanned equipment display area, a marine equipment display area, and a primary center exhibition space will be used for the first time at this year's airshow. There will be an exhibition of some of China's most recent developments in aircraft technology. Models from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation will contain the main probe of Tianwen-2 and the first-stage engine of a heavy-lift launch vehicle. Nearly 90 different kinds of aero engines, cutting-edge materials, and other goods will be on display at the Aero Engine Corporation of China.

Alongside the airshow, there will be a conference with industry discussions on subjects like human health, commercial space, and space medicine. The 30th anniversary of Airshow China's establishment is this year. Since its establishment in 1996, it has developed into a significant platform for exhibiting cutting-edge aviation and aerospace technology and equipment from both domestic and international sources. Additionally, it has developed into a global forum for advancing commercial collaboration in aviation and aerospace equipment and technologies.

FAQs:

Q: Why is displaying two lunar samples of moon’s near and far sides together considered historic?

A: For the first time, lunar samples from the moon's near and far sides can be seen and compared side by side at the airshow. This is the first large-scale public domestic exhibition to frame them together, although China has previously shown them together at a United Nations gathering in Vienna.

Q: Which space missions retrieved these lunar samples of moon’s near and far sides?

A: The Chang'e-5 mission, which succeeded in returning with 1,731 grams of lunar soil to Earth in late 2020, retrieved the Near Side of moon. In June 2024, the historic Chang'e-6 mission returned with 1,935.3 grams of material from the Far Side of moon.

Q: What makes the lunar "far side" samples so unique?

A: Prior to the Chang'e-6 mission, all lunar samples obtained throughout human history—including those from NASA's Apollo and the Soviet Union's Luna missions—came only from the moon's near side. The Chang'e-6 samples, which were taken from the ancient South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, are the first physical materials ever recovered from the far side of the moon.

Q: When and where can people see this display?

A: Zhuhai, a seaside city in the Guangdong Province of south China, will host the airshow from December 7 to December 13.

Q: Why was the 2026 Airshow schedule shifted to December?

A: Airshow China is traditionally held in November every two years. The 16th edition, however, was formally delayed for December 7–13, 2026. The event's 30th anniversary falls on the same day as this layout change.