Credits: Nasa/Cleps

China’s Chang’e-6 probe landed successfully on the far side of the Moon on June 2nd. According to China National Space Administration (CNSA), the program will bring samples of lunar soil from that region to Earth for the first time in history. The spacecraft took off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on Hainan Island in southern China on May 3rd. It is scheduled to return by the end of June.

The probe landed in the Apollo crater, located in the South Pole Aitken Basin (SPA). “The choice was made for the Apollo Basin’s potential value of scientific exploration”, stated Huang Hao, a space expert at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. This crater was formed during a celestial collision over four billion years ago, making it the largest and oldest crater caused by impact in the solar system ever recorded. Analysis of this soil will provide new knowledge about the Moon’s early history and the solar system.

The machine collected soil samples using robotic arms and a drill over two days. For the first time, the probe also planted, on the Moon’s hidden side, a Chinese flag made of basalt fibers — a very sturdy rock that is very common in lunar soil. After that, it took off from the Moon’s surface and docked with another spacecraft in its orbit so the samples could be sent back.

The Far Side of the Moon

The Moon, like the Earth, rotates around its own axis and revolves (rotates around another object, in this case, the Earth). The time it takes for the Moon to revolve around itself is the same as the time it takes to complete one revolution around the Earth. This means that one side never faces the Earth. That is the hidden side. The mysterious part accounts for 41% of the surface of the Moon.

SOURCES: CGTN, NSSC, CNSA, AGÊNCIA BRASIL, REUTERS, NASA, REPUBLIC OF CHINA, ESA, AND G1

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