Far side gets second 'Earthly' visitor as China's space program makes stellar leap with historic mission
China's Chang'e 6 unmanned mission has made history by providing the first-ever substances from the lunar far side to mankind.
Before the mission, all of the lunar substances on Earth were collected from the near side of the moon.
The landscapes and physical characteristics of the far side, which permanently faces away from Earth, are very different from those of the near side, which is visible from Earth, according to scientists.
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The new samples will probably offer researchers worldwide useful clues for answering questions about our closest neighbor, and will likely bring a range of invaluable scientific payoffs, they said.
The 8.35-metric-ton Chang'e 6 spacecraft, consisting of an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a reentry capsule, was launched by a Long March 5 heavy-lift carrier rocket on May 3 from Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province. It entered lunar orbit on May 8.
After a series of sophisticated steps, the lander touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, on the morning of June 2.
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It worked 49 hours on the lunar far side, using a mechanical arm and a drill to collect surface and underground materials. Meanwhile, several scientific instruments were activated to conduct surveys and analyses.
After the tasks were completed, the sample-loaded ascender lifted off from the lunar surface and reached lunar orbit to dock with the reentry capsule to transfer the samples.
In the final step, the reentry capsule flew back to Earth on Tuesday afternoon, delivering the precious samples for closer inspections.
