Researchers analyzed lunar soil brought back by China's Chang'e-6, the first spacecraft to return with a haul of rocks and dirt from the little-explored far side.

China's Chang'e-6 robotic spacecraft in June made history by retrieving the first surface samples from the far side of the moon, which perpetually faces away from Earth. Researchers said on Friday the soil brought back from the Chang'e-6 landing site contained fragments of volcanic rock - basalt - dating to 4.

New research shows that volcanoes erupted on the far side of the moon billions of years ago, mirroring activity on the near side.