News

China’s Spacecraft Lands On Moon’s Far Side

Published

4 months ago

June 3, 2024

FILE – This photo provided on Jan. 12, 2019, by the China National Space Administration via Xinhua News Agency shows the lunar lander of the Chang’e-4 probe in a photo taken by the rover Yutu-2 on Jan. 11. China is preparing to launch a lunar probe Friday, May 3, 2024, that would land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into geological and other differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. (China National Space Administration/Xinhua News Agency via AP, File)

China says its uncrewed craft has successfully landed on the far side of the Moon – an unexplored place almost no-one tries to go.

The Chang’e 6 touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin at 06:23 Beijing time yesterday morning, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

Launched on May 3, the mission aims to collect precious rock and soil from this region for the first time in history. The probe could extract some of the Moon’s oldest rocks from a huge crater on its South Pole, reports the BBC.

The landing was fraught with risks, because it is very difficult to communicate with spacecraft once they reach the far side of the Moon. China is the only country to have achieved the feat before, landing its Chang’e-4 in 2019.