China‘s Chang’e-6 lunar probe successfully returned to Earth on Tuesday, marking a historic achievement as the first mission to collect samples from the far side of the moon. The reentry module landed in a designated zone in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region, with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) declaring the mission a complete success.
The Chang’e-6 probe is expected to have brought back up to 2 kilograms of lunar soil and rocks from the South Pole-Aitken basin on the far side of the moon. These samples will be analyzed by Chinese researchers before being made available to international scientists, providing valuable insights into the evolution of the moon, Earth, and the solar system.
The successful mission is a significant milestone in China’s efforts to establish itself as a leading space power. It comes as the US, India, Japan, and other nations also ramp up their lunar exploration programs, with China and the US seen to be in a race to send astronauts to the moon and establish research bases at the lunar south pole.
The samples collected by Chang’e-6 are considered a “treasure chest” by scientists, as the far side of the moon provides a unique record of the early solar system that is not available on Earth due to plate tectonics and erosion. The data from the mission will also aid China’s plans to utilize lunar resources for future space exploration.
