China Launches Chang’e-6 Mission to Far Side of Moon in Historic Sample Return Mission
(CNN) — China made history on January 3, 2019, when the Chang’e-4 mission successfully landed on the far side of the Moon, becoming the first and only country to achieve this feat. Now, China is taking another giant leap in space exploration by sending the Chang’e-6 mission to the far side with the goal of returning the first samples of the Moon’s “dark side” to Earth.
Launched this Friday, the Chang’e-6 mission will spend 53 days exploring the South Pole-Aitken basin, the largest and oldest crater on the Moon, to study its geology and topography and collect samples. Scientists hope that analyzing these samples will help answer lingering questions about the far side of the Moon and confirm the origin of the Moon.
“The far side of the Moon is very different from the near side,” says Li Chunlai, deputy chief designer of the China National Space Administration. “The far side is basically made up of ancient lunar crust and highlands, so there are a lot of scientific questions to answer there.”
Contrary to popular belief, the far side of the Moon is not always dark but experiences lunar day and night just like the near side. The Chang’e-4 mission, which landed in the Von Karman Crater, and other spacecraft like NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have provided valuable insights into the mysterious far side, but returning samples to Earth will allow for more in-depth analysis.
Scientists are still trying to answer key questions about the Moon, including why one side always faces the Earth and what caused the asymmetry between the two sides. By sending missions like Chang’e-6 and NASA’s upcoming missions to the far side, researchers hope to unlock the secrets of the Moon’s formation and evolution.
The Chang’e-6 mission marks a significant step in cracking the lunar code and unraveling the mysteries of our celestial neighbor. Stay tuned for more updates as China’s historic mission progresses.