China’s Chang’e 6 lunar lander returned with samples from the “moon’s mysterious far side” Tuesday, according to information provided by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and NASA.
Earlier this month the Chinese space agency announced that Chang’e 6 made a “soft landing” on the moon’s far side. As NASA explains, one side of the moon always faces away from Earth (also known as the “Dark Side of the Moon” if you are a Pink Floyd fan). In 1959, the Soviet Union’s Luna 3 spacecraft transmitted the first images of this enigmatic region to Earth.
“It’s another crucial milestone for the mission – the first of its kind,” said the CNSA of the recent journey to this still largely unexplored region. “The probe was launched on May 3 and entered lunar orbit on May 8. The landing went smoothly, as planned.”
Per The Guardian, the mission was the first to bring samples from this area back to Earth.
NASA said that the mission returned with samples this week. According to the U.S. space agency, the spacecraft was similar to a previous CNSA launch called Chang’e 5. Both are named after a Chinese moon goddess.
“It comprises four modules: an orbiter, return vehicle, lander, and ascender,” NASA explained. “The four vehicle combination is designed to go into lunar orbit, where the lander-ascender combination separate and drop to land on the surface.”
Once samples were collected, they were put in a container in the ascender. That ascender then lifted off to “rendezvous with the orbiter-return vehicle combination,” said NASA. Then it dropped off the container into the return vehicle that then takes them to Earth.
Chang’e 6 also had landing and survey cameras and it carried an instrument from France, Detection of Outgassing RadoN (DORN), as well as Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS), contributed by Sweden and ESA. Other equipment on the mission included a laser retroreflector (INRRI) from Italy and the ICUBE-Q cubesat from Pakistan and a small rover. Video of the mission was shared by CCTV.
After orbiting for 20 days to find a landing site, the Chang’e 6 lander separated from its orbiter and landed on June 1 (June 2 Beijing time) in the southern part of the Apollo crater. Its mission was to collect a little more than four pounds of material from the far side of the moon. Samples were collected with a scoop and drill more than 6 feet below the surface.
“The solar panels, antenna, and science experiments were deployed,” once the equipment was on the moon, said NASA. “Communications were established via the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, enabling communications from the lunar far side after landing.”
Then, the unmanned probe returned back to Earth, landing in the rural Siziwang Banner region of Inner Mongolia Tuesday.
“The first rocks from the far side of the Moon have just landed safely on Earth and scientists can’t wait to study them,” said an article published Tuesday in the Nature journal. Yang Wei, a geochemist at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics in Beijing said that researchers have “high expectations” for the material, which are different from rocks previously collected from the moon.
This landmark achievement in space for China comes as nuclear tension heighten on a global scale, per a report from Audacy station KCBS Radio in San Francisco. That report said that China is growing its number of missile silos.
CNSA is currently developing two future space missions – Chang’e-7 planned for launch in 2026 and Chang’e-8 planned for launch in 2028, said the Nature article. Both are more complex than Chang’e 6.
“They will hunt for water ice near the lunar south pole and conduct other surveys and experiments,” said the article. “Water ice can be used to make oxygen and rocket fuels, and local supplies will be crucial for establishing a long-term human presence on the moon.”
These are all part of China’s goal to establish a moon base by the mid-2030s, according to Namrata Goswami, a space-policy researcher at Arizona State University in Phoenix.
“The ability of China to execute their space missions on time means it will realistically establish the first ever permanent presence on the moon,” she said.
NASA’s Artemis program is also pushing moon exploration. Through this program, the U.S. plans to establish Artemis Base Camp, a long-term presence on the moon.
“Artemis Base Camp will be our first foothold on the lunar frontier,” said the space agency.