China lands a spacecraft on the far side of the moon

Chinese spacecraft The landing was successful The country completed a successful space probe on the far side of the moon on Sunday, a major achievement for the country and a sign of an expanding 21st-century space race with the United States.

The lunar rover Chang’e-6, named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology, landed in a large crater in the Antarctic-Aitken Basin at about 6:30 a.m. Beijing time. The rover will collect rock and soil samples from the surface, which could provide valuable insights for comparing the less-explored near and far sides of the moon.

“The mission involves many technological innovations, high risks and great challenges,” the China National Space Administration said in a statement. statement“The payload carried by the Chang’e-6 lander will function as planned and carry out its scientific exploration mission.”

The probe will use a small robotic shovel and drill to collect about four pounds of surface material, which will be launched into lunar orbit on a small rocket booster and picked up by a spacecraft in orbit.

Chang’e-6 will be China’s second probe to land a probe on the far side of the moon, as no other country has done so before. Missions to the far side of the moon are particularly challenging due to communication challenges and the area’s deep, pockmarked craters.

The probe was launched early last month and its mission is due to continue for another month or so. Two other spacecraft have reached the moon so far this year, one made by Japan and the other by US startup Intuitive Machines.

Chang’e-6 will be China’s sixth lunar mission. China is investing heavily in space exploration. It also operates its own manned space station to rival the International Space Station and aims to send astronauts to the moon by 2030.

If the mission is successful, Japan will become only the second country after the United States to send astronauts to the moon. No one has set foot on the moon since 1972, but NASA plans to go back to the moon as early as 2026.

The U.S.-led Artemis program plans to rely heavily on support from private space companies and is partnering with space agencies in Canada, Europe and Japan.

Boeing’s Starliner program is the company’s first step toward commercial spaceflight, but attempts to launch its first spacecraft this month have been repeatedly delayed.