China’s Chang’e-6 lunar exploration rocket prepares for liftoff from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in southern China’s Hainan province.
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A Chinese spacecraft It landed on the far side of the moon on Sunday to collect soil and rock samples that could provide insight into the differences between the less explored region and the better-known near-Earth region.
The China National Space Administration said the landing module landed in a huge crater called the Antarctic-Aitken Basin at 6:23 a.m. Beijing time.
The mission is the sixth in the Chang’e lunar exploration program, named after the Chinese moon goddess. This is the continuation of Chang’e 5which it did from the near side in 2020.
The moon program is part of a growing competition with the United States (still the leader in space exploration) and other countries, including Japan and India. China has put its own space station into orbit and regularly Sending personnel There.
The goals of emerging global powers send a man to the moon By 2030, this would make it the second country after the United States to do so. The United States is planning to send astronauts to the moon again – for the first time in more than 50 years – although NASA Extend target date earlier this year to 2026.
U.S. efforts to launch spacecraft using private-sector rockets have been repeatedly delayed. Last minute computer glitch Planned launch canceled Boeing’s first astronaut flight Saturday.
Earlier Saturday, a Japanese billionaire canceled his plans Orbiting the moon amid development uncertainty giant rocket Provided by SpaceX. NASA is planning to use rockets to send astronauts to the moon.
In China’s current mission, the lander will use a robotic arm and drill to collect up to 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of surface and underground material in about two days.
An ascender on top of the lander would then carry the sample in a metal vacuum container back to another module orbiting the moon. The container will be transferred to the return capsule, which will return to Earth in the desert of China’s Inner Mongolia region around June 25.
Missions to the far side of the moon are more difficult because it does not face Earth and requires relay satellites to maintain communications. The terrain is also more rugged, with fewer flat areas to land on.
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