China’s Chang’e-6 probe returned to Earth on Tuesday, successfully completing its historic mission to collect the first-ever samples from the far side of the moon. The probe landed today in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region via parachute. Following its landing, a search team located the Chang’e-6 probe in a few minutes.
This mission is a key milestone for China to establish itself as a major player in the space industry with the support of its China National Space Administration (CNSA). The lunar mission comes as multiple countries, including the U.S., raise their efforts in propelling their lunar exploration programs.
Beijing plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2030 and build a research base at the lunar south pole, where the U.S. also plans to establish a base.
China’s Chang’e-6 probe should have returned to Earth with around 2 kilograms of moon dust and rocks from the lunar far side. Researchers in China will analyze this sample before giving international scientists access to it, according to the CNSA. The results from the analysis of the samples could help scientists understand better the evolution of the moon, the Earth, and the solar system. Moreover, they could help China with future exploration missions.
Read: China’s Chang’e-6 probe takes off from the moon with first samples from lunar far side
China’s Chang’e-6 probe collected the samples using a drill and robotic arm from the South Pole-Aitken basin, an impact crater formed around four billion years ago on the moon’s far side, which is never visible to Earth.
Since its launch on May 3, the Chang’e-6 probe has captured interest globally.
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