Chinese Spacecraft Lands on Moon’s Far Side for Samples

June 3, 2024

A Chinese spacecraft made a major landing on the far side of the moon, which has not been explored as much as the near side. It was confirmed by the China National Space Administration that the module did indeed land safely in the huge South Pole-Aitken Basin. This is a very important time in the study of the moon as part of China’s sixth mission in its Chang’e moon exploration series, which is named after a Chinese mythological moon goddess. The main goal of the mission is to get dirt and rock samples, building on what Chang’e 5 did in 2020 when it took samples from the near side of the moon.

Goals and Implications of the Mission

China’s moon program is part of a larger effort to explore space, and it shows that the country is becoming a world leader in aerospace. China wants to send humans to the moon by 2030, hoping to become the second country after the US to reach this goal. It has already made progress by building its orbiting space station and sending people on missions more often. Other countries, like the USA, Japan, and India, are also competing in this ongoing space race, which makes space research more competitive around the world.

Technical Aspects of the Mission

During the operational part of the mission, a mechanical arm and a drill attached to the lander are used to dig up to 2 kg of material from the surface and the ground over two days. Once the samples are collected, they will be put in a metal vacuum cylinder and put on an ascender. This ascender is in charge of getting the container to a module that circles the moon. The sample’s last stop on its trip is back to Earth, where it will land in the deserts of Inner Mongolia around June 25.

Challenges in Far-Side Lunar Missions

Exploration of the moon’s far side presents increased challenges due to its lack of direct visibility from Earth. To keep communication lines open, this needs the use of a transfer satellite. The rough terrain and lack of flat landing areas make landing and operating operations even more difficult than on the near side, which is more familiar. Despite these problems, missions like this one that are successful help us learn a lot about the differences between the moon and Earth and make space travel technology better.

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