This is a real feat and a world first that the Chinese have no doubt continued to boast about. On Tuesday, their Chang’e-6 probe managed to take off from the far side of the Moon where it had landed two days earlier. On board, the module achieved the feat of carrying samples of the famous star on which the Americans walked for the first time in 1969. A feat which marks a new stage in the ambitious Chinese space program, which aims to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2030. “A Chinese flag carried by the lander was deployed for the first time on the far side of the Moon,” reported Xinhua.
The Chinese Space Administration (CNSA) highlights “an unprecedented feat in the history of human lunar exploration” in particular because “the mission withstood the test of high temperatures on the far side of the Moon”. Chang’e-6 landed on Sunday in the immense South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, located on the far side, according to the space administration.
The probe’s mission, with a planned duration of 53 days, began on May 3, with the particular objective of collecting samples. To do this, it has a drill to recover samples from below the surface, and a robotic arm to grab material directly from the surface.
A side rarely explored
Rarely explored, the hidden side of the Moon is invisible from Earth but nevertheless captures the Sun’s rays. Its exploration is very promising for research, because its craters are less covered by old lava flows than those on the visible side. These samples will also make it possible to better understand “the origin of the solar system” and to better prepare for future explorations.
According to specialized sites, the samples should remain in lunar orbit for a few weeks before beginning their return to Earth around June 25.