BEIJING: China’s national space agency said on Tuesday that the Chang’e-6 probe had successfully launched from the moon’s far side and was on its way back to Earth.
China is getting closer to being the first nation to return samples from the far side of the moon, which is always facing away from Earth, thanks to the probe’s successful exit from the moon.
After leaving the moon at 7:38 a.m. local time, the probe successfully finished gathering samples from June 2–3. According to a statement from the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Chang’e-6 “withstood the test of high temperature on the far side of the moon.”
According to CNSA, Chang’e-6 faced an extra technological hurdle in functioning without direct connections with ground stations on Earth, in contrast to its predecessor Chang’e-5, which collected samples from the near side of the moon.
Rather, communication with the probe was handled by the relay satellite Queqiao-2, which was launched into orbit in April. According to state news agency Xinhua, the probe dug up soil on and beneath the moon’s surface using a drill and robotic arm.
Following sample gathering, Chang’e-6 flew China’s national flag on the moon for the first time, according to Beijing Daily.
As of Tuesday morning, CNSA reported that the probe is in lunar orbit and will soon join up with another spacecraft in orbit. After that, the samples will be loaded onto a return module that will take out again for Earth, landing somewhere in Inner Mongolia, China, on June 25.
