China’s Chang’e-6 | 04 Jun 2024
Recently, China's Chang’e-6 probe successfully collected rock and soil samples from the moon's far side and lifted off from the lunar surface to return to Earth.
- The probe's landing site was the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater created more than 4 billion years ago, which is 13 kilometres deep and has a diameter of 2,500 kilometres.
- The landing site for Chandrayaan-3 was near the lunar south pole.
- The mission to the moon’s far side is challenging due to the lack of direct communication with Earth, requiring a relay satellite, and the rugged terrain with fewer flat landing areas.
- The mission is the sixth in the Chang’e moon exploration program, which is named after a Chinese moon goddess. It is the second design to bring back samples, following the Chang’e 5, which did so from the near side in 2020.
- China aims to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, and this mission is a significant step towards that goal.