NOS News•today, 4:00 PM
China has launched a lunar lander to collect debris from the far side of the moon. If that mission succeeds, it will be a first. The Chang’e-6 was successfully launched from Hainan Island in the South China Sea late this morning (Dutch time). The mission will last 53 days.
The intention is for the lunar lander to land in the South Pole-Aitken basin, a kilometers-deep crater with a diameter of about 2,500 kilometers. About two kilos of moon dust and rocks need to be collected in that area. Scientists hope the mission will provide more insight into how the moon was formed.
The far side is also called the dark side of the moon, because it is not visible from Earth. It does not mean that there is no sunlight. On that side, the moon’s crust is thicker and there are more craters.
First landing on the back
China was the first to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon in 2019. The Chinese have also collected grit from the moon before, but the combination is new.
The US and Russia’s lunar missions all went to the far side of the moon. That is also simpler: communication with spacecraft on the back is made more difficult because the moon is between them. The Chinese lunar lander can be communicated with thanks to a satellite positioned on the far side of the moon.
Research station in 2030
The mission is the next step in Beijing’s ambitious space plans. China’s goal is to put astronauts on the moon and build a research station there before 2030. To prepare for this, two more unmanned missions are planned in the coming years.
China also wants to go further into space. The country plans to send space probes to Mars and Jupiter to collect samples there.
The Chang’e space program was established in 2007 and is named after the moon goddess from Chinese mythology.
