BEIJING (AP) — China’s Chang’e 6 Probe The probe returned to Earth on Tuesday with the world’s first rock and soil samples from the little-explored far side of the moon.
The probe landed in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region on Tuesday afternoon.
“We declare the Chang’e-6 lunar exploration mission a complete success,” Zhang Kejian, director of the China National Space Administration, said at a televised press conference shortly after the landing.
Chinese scientists expect the samples returned will contain volcanic rocks and other materials that are 2.5 million years old, which they hope will answer questions about the geographic differences between the two sides of the moon.
The near side is what we see from Earth, and the far side faces out into space. In contrast to the relatively flat expanse seen on the near side, the far side is known to have mountains and impact craters.
Previous missions by the United States and the Soviet Union have taken samples from the near side of the moon, but China’s mission is the first to do so from the far side.
The lunar program is being carried out by the United States, a leader in space exploration, Japan China has launched its own space station into orbit and is regularly Send a crew There.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of congratulations to the Chang’e team, calling it “a milestone achievement in our country’s efforts to become a space and technological power.”
The probe left Earth on May 3rd. The journey lasted 53 days.The probe drilled a core and scooped up rocks from the surface.
In a statement published in Innovation Monday, a journal published in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, geologist Zhongyu Yue of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said the sample “is expected to help answer one of the most fundamental scientific questions in lunar science research: what geological activity causes the difference between the front and back of the moon and the sun?”
China has conducted several successful lunar missions in recent years, including the Chang’e-5 probe, which has collected samples from the near side of the moon.
They also hope the probe will bring back material that may contain traces of meteorites that have previously impacted the lunar surface. If the probe’s re-entry is successful, scientists will begin examining the samples.
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AP Video Producer Olivia Chang contributed to this report.
