China’s Chang’e-6 lander has transmitted stunning photos of the mysterious surface of the moon’s far side to Earth.
Additionally, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) released some amazing footage showing samples of the far side of the moon that the lunar probe has been collecting over the past two days, after it was launched into orbit at 7:38 a.m. Beijing time on Tuesday, June 4 (7:38 p.m. EDT on June 3).
Chang’e-6 landed on the morning of Sunday, June 2nd, Beijing time, in the unexplored Apollo Basin Crater within the vast South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA) on the far side of the Moon.
New images and videos show that the historic mission, which will mark only the second soft landing on the hemisphere of the moon that always faces away from Earth, is progressing at an astonishing pace.
Related: Watch dramatic video as China’s Chang’e-6 probe lands on the far side of the moon
“China’s Chang’e-6 liftoff vehicle separated from the lander and launched from the lunar south pole-Aitken basin at 7:38 a.m. Beijing time on June 4,” the CNSA said in a statement. “It is carrying lunar samples collected over the past two days. About six minutes later, it will enter its target orbit and begin several orbital maneuvers as the next step in the process.”
The samples will be retrieved from orbit by the Chang’e-6 probe, which remained in space around the moon after the ascent rocket took off to deliver the lander to the lunar surface. If all goes as planned, the sample container will parachute back to Earth on June 25.
This will be a historic event as it will be the first time that samples will be taken from the far side of the Moon and brought back to Earth for study.
Before any samples were collected from the lunar surface, CNSA Watcher shared an amazing video on their YouTube channel showing the first lunar and rock samples being collected from the Apollo Basin.
The lunar images from Chang’e-6 were shared through China Aerospace’s Weibo account and then reposted through the CNSA Watcher’s X account.
“Save! #Chang’e 6# [Chang’e 6] “High-resolution image of the landing site taken by the lander’s panoramic camera. Zoom in to see details of the lunar surface,” CNSA wrote on Weibo.
The Chang’e-6 lander’s panoramic camera has taken high-resolution images of the landing site, revealing detailed views of the lunar surface. Image credit: https://t.co/lCulGS43mp pic.twitter.com/4AH0RXG3WiJune 4, 2024
Other images taken by Chang’e-6’s lander camera shared by the CNSA include images of the lander’s legs firmly touching down on the lunar surface.
Another image celebrates this amazing achievement by China and the CNSA with a view of the Chinese flag against the backdrop of the lunar surface.
Chang’e 6, named after the Chinese moon goddess, is the second mission to make a soft landing on the far side of the moon; the previous was Chang’e 4 in January 2019.
So far, China is the only country to have successfully landed on the hemisphere of the moon farthest from Earth.
Following CNSA’s successful landing of a spacecraft in this challenging region of the Moon, the next two Chang’e missions will target the Moon’s south pole, which is set to be the focus of future human exploration of Earth’s lunar companion.
Chang’e 7 is scheduled to arrive at the lunar south pole in 2026 to search for a water ice repository. Chang’e 8 is scheduled to launch two years later in 2028 to explore the local potential of using the water ice and other resources discovered by its predecessor.
This will be used to determine how lunar materials can be used to enhance manned lunar exploration, as the CNSA plans to move humans to the Moon by 2030.
