Chinese probe landed on the far side of the moon

It would be the first time in human history that soil and rock samples would be brought to Earth from the far side of the moon.

The moon mission is expected to last 53 days
The mission began in early May from Wenchang Spaceport on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. After just over four days of flying, “Chang’e 6” entered lunar orbit and circled Earth’s satellite to find a suitable time and place for landing.

Now the probe’s lander will use a robotic arm to collect two kilograms of rock and soil samples in the moon’s so-called South Pole-Aitken Basin before “Chang’e 6” is expected back on Earth in late June. The moon mission is expected to last 53 days.

“Discovering the Secrets of the Moon”
“First-hand direct samples from the far side of the moon are essential to better understand the features and differences of the two sides of the moon and unravel the moon’s secrets,” said Zeng Xingguo, a scientist at the National Astronomical Observatory. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The “Chang’e 6” landing site is the largest and oldest impact crater on the moon. According to the scientific magazine ‘Science’, it has a diameter of 2,500 kilometers and is up to eight kilometers deep. Scientists have long wanted to obtain rock samples from this region because they could potentially provide information about the formation of the moon, Earth, and also the early history of the solar system.

It is believed that the basin was formed by an asteroid impact. However, there is disagreement over the exact timing: some researchers believe the basin formed 4.3 billion years ago, others believe the impact occurred hundreds of millions of years later, according to Science.

Sixth Chinese moon mission
As in previous missions, China is also flying instruments from other countries on “Chang’e-6”. The probe carries equipment and devices from France, Italy, Sweden and Pakistan.

This is the Chinese’s sixth lunar mission since 2007. Most recently, “Chang’e 5” returned samples from the moon’s leading edge to Earth for research in 2020. Only the US and the Soviet Union had achieved this before. Moreover, in 2019, China had landed a rover on the far side of the moon for the first time with ‘Chang’e 4’ and explored the terrain there.

Moon landing attempts are considered extremely difficult. In the recent past, several lunar probes from India, Israel, Japan and Russia failed to reach their destinations as planned. The Earth’s satellite has become interesting again for many countries because it is believed that valuable raw materials are present there. In addition, the current moon mission “Chang’e 6” should also be a useful step for the Chinese space program to gain experience to collect Martian soil samples in the future.

Billions of dollars flow into the space program
China has been investing billions of dollars in its ambitious space program for years and is also keen to catch up with the US in this area. China wants to send a manned mission to the moon by 2030. In the long term, the People’s Republic also plans to build a research station near the south pole of the Earth satellite, where valuable raw materials and possibly water are expected to be found. Just last week, Russia’s Tass news agency reported that the State Duma – the lower house of the Russian parliament – ​​had ratified an agreement with Beijing on cooperation in establishing a permanent lunar research station.

The US also plans to return to the moon with astronauts more than fifty years after the Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972. After several postponements, the planned manned moon landing of NASA’s Artemis program is now scheduled for fall 2026. A new moon landing will take place in 2028.