BEIJING: On Sunday, China achieved a significant as China lands on moon’s far side. This mission aims to collect the first rock and soil samples from the moon’s dark hemisphere.
This successful landing boosts China’s status in the global race to the moon, where countries like the United States plan to mine lunar minerals for future astronaut missions and moon bases.
The Chang’e-6 spacecraft, carrying various tools and its own launcher, landed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a large crater on the moon’s far side, at 6:23 a.m. Beijing time (2223 GMT). The China National Space Administration confirmed China Lands on Moon’s Far Side.
The mission required many engineering innovations and posed high risks. The Chang’e-6 lander will conduct scientific exploration as planned, according to the space agency.
This marks China’s second mission to the moon’s far side, a region no other country has reached. The far side is filled with deep craters, making communication and landing more challenging. Experts noted that landing on the moon’s far side is particularly difficult due to the lack of direct communication and the need for automation, which is complicated by long shadows in high latitudes.
The Chang’e-6 probe was launched on May 3 from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island. It reached the moon’s vicinity in about a week and then adjusted its orbit for landing.
This year has seen three lunar landings: Japan’s SLIM lander in January, a US startup’s lander in February, and now China’s Chang’e-6. Other countries that have sent spacecraft to the moon include the Soviet Union and India, with the United States being the only country to have landed humans on the moon since 1969.
Collecting Moon Samples
The Chang’e-6 lander will collect 2 kg (4.4 pounds) of lunar material using a scoop and drill over two days. These samples will be sent back to Earth by a rocket booster on the lander, expected to land in Inner Mongolia around June 25.
This mission will give China valuable insights into the moon’s 4.5 billion-year history and new clues about the solar system’s formation. It will also allow scientists to compare the dark, unexplored far side with the moon’s familiar near side.
China is developing a simulation lab for the Chang’e-6 mission to test sampling strategies and equipment controls using a full-scale replica of the landing area.
Looking ahead, China plans its first astronaut landing on the moon around 2030, with Russia as a partner. In 2020, China completed its first lunar sample return mission with Chang’e-5, bringing back samples from the moon’s near side.
The US Artemis program aims for a crewed moon landing by late 2026 or later, partnering with agencies from Canada, Europe, and Japan. Artemis also relies on private companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which plans to attempt the first astronaut landing with its Starship rocket since NASA’s final Apollo mission in 1972.
Meanwhile, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa canceled his private moon mission with SpaceX’s Starship due to scheduling uncertainties. Additionally, Boeing and NASA delayed the first crewed launch of the Starliner capsule, which aims to become the second US space taxi to low-Earth orbit.
