China’s Chang’e 6 mission achieved a historic feat by returning to Earth with the first-ever lunar samples collected from the moon’s far side. This uncharted territory holds promise for scientists hoping to understand more about the moon’s formation and evolution.
China’s Chang’e 6 lunar probe has returned to Earth with samples from the moon’s far side, completing a groundbreaking 53-day mission. In addition, this achievement marks a significant milestone for China’s space program.
The Chang’e 6 successfully landed in China’s Inner Mongolia region around 2 pm local time on Tuesday. The touchdown, shown live on TV, ended with applause in the mission control room.
“The Chang’e-6 lunar exploration mission has been a complete success,” announced Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
This mission brought back soil and rocks from the moon’s far side, a region less smoothed by ancient lava flows compared to the near side. Moreover, scientists believe these samples will help us better understand how the moon formed and evolved.
The Chang’e 6 launched from Hainan province on May 3. It landed in the moon’s vast South Pole-Aitken Basin about a month later, where it used a drill and robotic arm to collect samples. The probe also planted a Chinese flag on the moon’s surface and took pictures of the landscape.
On June 4, it made the first successful launch from the moon’s far side, an achievement hailed by the Chinese news agency Xinhua as “an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history.”
Groundbreaking Exploration
The returned lunar samples, estimated to include 2.5 million-year-old volcanic rock, are expected to be a treasure trove of information for scientists. Researchers believe these samples can shed light on the moon’s geological composition, formation processes, and potential differences in material makeup between the two lunar hemispheres.
This historic accomplishment by China’s Chang’e 6 mission paves the way for further lunar exploration and international collaboration in unraveling the mysteries of our moon. Scientists around the world eagerly await the analysis of these precious lunar samples, which hold the potential to rewrite our understanding of the moon’s history and its place in our solar system.
