The China National Space Administration sent its Chang’e-6 lunar rover to collect rocks and other materials near and around an impact crater called the Apollo Basin, which is part of the moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Chang’e-6 was launched into space on May 3 from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on China’s southern island of Hainan, and landed at 6:23 a.m. local time. In Chinese mythology, Chang’e is the moon goddess.
China, the United States, Japan, India and Russia have all invested heavily in space exploration in recent years, entering a field that has throughout history been touted as a symbol of national power and progress.
China and the United States, in particular, are in a fierce competition to stay at the forefront of space science. Both countries are gunning for the historic honor of being the second to land humans on the moon, with the United States aiming to do so as early as 2026 and China by 2030. (The United States was the first country to land humans on the moon with the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.)
The far side of the Moon, or the dark side of the Moon, is the hemisphere that always faces away from Earth. The word “dark” doesn’t mean that there is a lack of light, it just means that scientists know very little about this hemisphere.
In 1968, astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission first sighted the far side of the moon, and in January 2019, the Chang’e 4 mission became the first in history to land on the moon. Communication on the far side of the moon is difficult because radio waves are blocked by thick rocks, so scientists must use relay satellites to send signals to the spacecraft and work within a short time frame to collect samples. The rough terrain also makes landing difficult.
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Chang’e-6 is expected to take about 15 hours to collect its samples. To meet this short time frame, CNSA scientists developed a spacecraft that can make autonomous decisions while executing fewer commands than previous missions, according to Xinhua.
Xinhua added that the mission aims to develop take-off and ascent capabilities from the far side of the moon, as well as key sample collection technologies.
