China is launching its Chang’e-6 robotic spacecraft this morning, with the aim of becoming the first ever mission to collect samples from the far side of the Moon
The Chang’e-6 mission is expected to launch today, hoping to become the first mission to collect rock and soil samples from the far side of the Moon.
The spacecraft will land on the northeastern side of the South Pole-Aikten Basin, before collecting the samples.
The samples will then be returned to Earth, allowing experts to analyse material on the dark side of the Moon for the very first time.
The breakthrough mission was expected to unravel some mysteries surrounding our solar system, as the far side of the Moon has a thicker, older crust than the side facing Earth.
The probe is being carried on a Long March-5 YB rocket set for liftoff Friday evening from the Wenchang launch center on the southern tropical island province of Hainan, the China National Space Administration announced. The launch window was between 10am and 11am UK time (5pm-6pm China time), with the target of 10.27am.
Huge numbers of people crowded Hainan’s beaches to view the launch, which comes in the middle of China’s five-day May Day holiday.
The entire mission was expected to last about 53 days, collecting roughly 2kg of material using a simple scoop and drill.
The Chang’e-6 mission will also be a major marker for China’s ambitious lunar plan. The nation is still hoping to achieve leader Xi Jinping’s “eternal dream” of making China into a globe space superpower.
There are two more missions already planned in the Chang’e series – all part of the aim to get boots on the lunar ground by 2030.
China originally launched its Chang’e Moon mission in 2007 – named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology. It has already completed five space missions; the most recent in 2020.
Chang’e-5, which launched four years ago, successfully returned to Earth with near-side moon samples. The year previous, Chang’e-4 managed to land on the far side of the Moon, before successfully returning to Earth.