China has been working on missions to the moon for years. In 2007 and 2010, the satellites Chang’e-1 and Chang’e-2 were placed in orbit around the celestial body. In 2013, China managed to safely land a lander on the moon’s surface with the Chang’e-3 mission. This made China the third country ever to succeed in this, after America and Russia. India has now also landed a vehicle on the moon.
A first
The successor, Chang’e-4, landed on the far side of the moon. That was a first: no country had achieved this before.
With the previous mission, Chang’e-5, China managed to go one step further. The country then collected material from the moon to bring it to Earth. The destination of that mission was a plain visible from Earth.
Now China is going to the far side of the moon again. This remains a challenging mission because the flight control does not have a direct connection with the spacecraft on the dark side of the moon.
Big ambitions
After landing, Chang’e-6 will have two days to excavate approximately 2 kilograms of material. After returning, scientists can examine the samples in their lab. The Apollo crater is much older than the material retrieved from the moon on previous missions. Scientists hope that the new samples from the crater will provide new knowledge about the moon’s distant past.
The next step for China is to build a moon base. The country also wants to send people. Only the US has succeeded so far. The missions are named after Chang’e, the goddess of the moon in ancient Chinese myths.
In August, India shared the first images of that country’s lunar lander taking a ride on the moon. You can see that in this video:
