Chinese moon mission Chang'e 6 brought to Earth the first sample of the far side ever taken on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. It reached the lunar surface on June 1.
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In another success for the burgeoning Chinese space industry, the Chang’e 6 lunar probe touched down successfully on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a province in the north of the country. The craft was launched by the China National Space Agency (CNSA) on May 3. It reached the moon June 1, and completed the lunar sample return mission 53 days later.
The probe made landfall in the Apollo Basin, a region in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an enormous crater on the moon’s far side. This site is one of the oldest and largest impact features found in the solar system. It is 4 billion years old.
The sample is expected to contain 2.5 million-year-old lunar dust, aka regolith. AP reports China intends to share the sample with international researchers.
The sample of the little-studied far side of the moon will be of great interest to lunar geologists, as an ongoing international effort to return to Earth’s natural satellite continues gaining momentum. China is one of many countries – including the United States, Japan, South Korea, India and Russia – currently focused on establishing a long-term human presence on the lunar surface.
Primarily, the sample will provide insight into how the moon’s two faces differ. And it may offer clues to early solar system history hidden in ancient meteorite debris. But the real achievement of Chang’e 6 is technological, Richard de Grijs, a professor of astrophysics at Macquarie University in Australia, told the AP.
This is a global first in the sense that it’s the first time anyone has been able to take off from the far side of the moon and bring back samples.
AP also quoted Chinese president Xi Jinping, who called the Chang’e 6 mission a “landmark achievement in our country’s efforts at becoming a space and technological power.”
And this wasn’t an easy assignment. NASA described Chang’e 6’s mission objectives:
The mission objective was to collect about 2 kg (4.4 pounds) of material from the far side of the moon and bring it back to Earth. A scoop and drill were used in order to obtain samples from the surface and from as deep as 2 meters (6.5 feet) below the surface. The samples were placed in the ascent vehicle, which was mounted on top of the lander.
The lander also deployed a small rover, which snapped a picture of its mothership (see above). Once aloft, the ascent vehicle mated with the Chang’e 6 orbiter, transferred the lunar sample and crashed back into the lunar surface. The return vehicle left the moon’s orbit around June 21.
Bottom line: The Chinese moon mission Chang’e 6 brought the first sample of the moon’s far side ever returned to Earth on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. The craft reached the moon 25 days earlier.
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The post Chang’e 6 moon mission returns 1st far side sample to Earth first appeared on EarthSky.
