China’s Chang’e-6 has displayed the first flag on the far side of the Moon, before beginning its return journey to Earth.
Before leaving, the rover also collected the first rock and soil samples from the side of the Moon that is always opposite us.
The ascender took off at 00:38 BST on Tuesday and transferred the samples to a reentry craft that should land in the deserts of Inner Mongolia around June 25.
Its successful return would not only mark a huge leap forward for China’s space program, but could also reveal the secrets of the Moon’s ancient history.
Because the Moon has an “Earth-centered” orbit, the “dark” side always faces away from the Earth, making it an extremely challenging location for landing spacecraft.
This is the second time a Chinese flag has been raised on the moon and is the eighth flag to be raised across the moon along with six American flags placed by the Apollo missions. However, unlike the flags placed during the Apollo missions, Chang’e 6’s small flag emerged on a retractable arm deployed from the side of the lunar lander and was not placed on the lunar soil, according to an animation from the mission spread by the agency.
A Chinese lunar rover has raised the first national flag on the dark side of the Moon before returning to Earth with samples of lunar material
Chang’e 6 left Earth aboard a Long March 5 rocket on May 3, 2024 and began its descent to the lunar surface on Sunday.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) said in a statement that Chang’e-6 “withstood the high temperature test on the far side of the Moon.”
This mission was particularly challenging as the lander could not rely on direct communication with Earth while on the far side of the Moon.
To stay in touch with the spacecraft, the CNSA used Queqiao-2, a 1,200 kg (2,645 pound) relay satellite launched into orbit in March to bounce signals back to Earth.
The lander touched down in the South Pole’s Aitken Basin, a 13-kilometer-deep impact crater believed to have formed more than 14 billion years ago.
As one of the oldest impact craters on the lunar surface, rock samples collected here could provide scientists with valuable information about the moon’s early formation.
The Chang’e 6 lander has lifted off aboard its ascender (pictured) from the Moon and transferred the samples to a reentry capsule that will land on Earth around June 25.
Chang’e-6 landed on the far side of the moon at 06:23 Beijing time on Sunday, June 2
Chang’e drilled into the lunar surface (pictured) to extract up to 2 kg (4.4 lb) of lunar material from the South Pole’s Aitken Basin, an impact crater created more than 4 billion years ago.
Chang’e 6 has the capacity to drill 2 m (6.6 ft) into the lunar surface and can hold up to 2 kg (4.4 lb) of lunar material for return to Earth.
Beyond its scientific importance, the mission is also a symbolic step toward China’s ambitious national space program.
Before leaving, the rover raised a Chinese flag, the second Chinese flag to fly on the moon, joining the six American flags raised during the Apollo lunar missions between 1969 and 1972.
Unlike the flags placed during the Apollo missions, the Chang’e 6 A small flag emerged on a retractable arm deployed from the side of the lunar lander and was not placed on the lunar soil, according to an animation of the mission released by the agency.
But, in another sign of the nation’s ambition, the flag has been constructed from fibers of basalt volcanic rock and could last on the Moon for 10,000 years, according to the CNSA.
These fibers are created by heating and stretching rocks similar to those found on the moon and are resistant to corrosion and heat.
Professor Zhou Changyi, one of the rover’s designers, told state broadcasters: “In the future, these basalt fibers can also be used on the Moon to make other things.
The lander was operated from a control center in Beijing (pictured), but the signal needed to bounce off a relay satellite launched in May in order to reach the far side of the moon.
“We hope to use lunar basalt to make building material and perhaps even contribute to a future lunar base.”
The location of this landing, near the Moon’s south pole, is also important as this area may contain frozen water that could be essential for a future lunar base.
This is the sixth in China’s Chang’e lunar mission series, named after the moon goddess.
China has already created its own space station to which it regularly sends astronauts and has announced its goal of sending humans to the Moon by 2030.
The Chinese space agency plans three more crewed missions this decade as it continues to search for water and a suitable location for a permanent base.
The samples collected (pictured) could indicate whether there is water at the Moon’s south pole that could help establish a future lunar base.
This landing comes amid increasing competition and what NASA chief Bill Nelson called a new “space race.”
In January, Japan became the fifth country to land on the Moon when its SLIM rover made a precision landing on the lunar surface.
The United States has also targeted the lunar south pole for its first crewed return to the moon in more than 50 years.
NASA recently pushed back the date of its Artemis-3 mission to 2026, but also aims to have humans walking on the moon before the end of the decade.
American company Intuitive Machines also landed a spacecraft on the moon as part of a NASA-funded mission in February; However, the ship capsized upon landing.
