China's Chang'e-6 mission successfully returned approximately 2kg of soil samples from the Moon's far side, landing in Inner Mongolia. This is considered a world first, as past U.S. and Soviet missions only collected samples from the Moon's near side.
The mission, part of China's lunar exploration series since 2007, lasted about two months and faced challenges due to the far side's terrain and communication difficulties.
Samples were collected through drilling and using a robotic arm, including 2.5-billion-year-old volcanic rocks and materials from the South Pole-Aitken Basin.
The far side of the moon has unique features including more craters, a thicker crust, and fewer dark plains compared to the near side. It offers unique research opportunities due to less lava coverage and potential insights into lunar origins and formation.
Scientists expect the samples to help understand the Moon's formation, evolution, early impact history, and lunar geological activity.
CNSA director Zhang Kejian and President Xi Jinping declared the mission a complete success.
China's ambitious space program aims to dominate exploration, with plans for manned lunar missions, a permanent lunar facility by 2030, and achievements like Mars landings and space station construction.
The U.S. views China's efforts as potentially militaristic, contrasting with their upcoming Artemis 3 mission. China has offered to share moon samples with American researchers.
Moon landing missions are challenging, with recent probes from India, Israel, Japan, and Russia failing to reach their destinations as planned.
Sources: NPR, New York Times, BBC, ABC News, South China Morning Post, Yahoo News, India TV News, Deccan Herald, Muswellbrook Chronicle, Aussiedlerbote, BreakingNews.ie, India Today, Devdiscourse, Wire News Fax, Westside People Mag, One News Page, Phys.org, Globe Echo, WION
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.
