China has etched its name in history after its Chang’e-6 lunar probe landed back on Earth on June 25 in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia. It has now become the first country to bring back samples from the far side of the moon.
As per the state media CCTV, the capsule landed at 2:07 pm Beijing time. It carried with it the lunar soil collected earlier in June by the probe after it landed on the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin. The drop location is an impact crater on the side of the Moon which is always facing away from us.
Shortly after the capsule landed, Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, announced the successful completion of the Chang’e-6 lunar mission. Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the mission’s success as a “landmark achievement” in China’s pursuit to become a leading force in space and science.
When was the mission launched?
China launched its Chang’e-6 probe on May 3 aboard a Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center. The Chang’e-6 mission lasted 53 days. After reaching the Moon’s orbit, the orbiter circled the natural satellite while the lander descended into the 2,500-kilometer-wide South Pole-Aitken basin on the lunar surface.
According to CCTV, the samples will be transported by air to Beijing for analysis.
Although it is still unclear whether the planned 2kg of samples were successfully returned, whatever the quantity, the samples will be analysed closely by both Chinese and foreign scientists. They believe these samples will reveal new insights into the formation of the Earth, moon, and solar system.
(With Reuters inputs)