{"id":60479,"date":"2024-06-25T16:09:23","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T16:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cc8a071b-e307-4f6d-ad47-223b88480150"},"modified":"2024-06-25T16:39:44","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T16:39:44","slug":"the-first-ever-piece-of-the-lunar-far-side-safely-returned-to-earth-onboard-chinas-change-6-mission","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/the-first-ever-piece-of-the-lunar-far-side-safely-returned-to-earth-onboard-chinas-change-6-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"The first ever piece of the lunar far-side safely returned to Earth onboard China’s Chang’e 6 mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Ezzy Pearson\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 25 June 2024 at 16:09 PM<\/p>

\n\n

China\u2019s Chang\u2019e 6 probe<\/a> has returned the first ever sample from the far side of the Moon safely to Earth.<\/p>

The return capsule landed with its precious cargo in the rural Siziwang Banner region of Inner Mongolia on 25 June, just after 2:00PM local time.<\/p>

\u201cThe Chang\u2019e 6 lunar exploration mission has been a complete success,\u201d said Zhang Kejian, head of China\u2019s National Space Administration.<\/p>

Chang’e 6’s return capsule was initially loaded up onto a truck, but will eventually be airlifted to Bejing.Credit: VCG\/VCG via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The recovery team, who had been eagerly waiting nearby, located the return capsule within minutes.<\/p>

After checking that everything looked well with the capsule, they prepared to airlift the probe to Beijing where it will be opened and the sample container removed.<\/p>

The sample returned from the far-side by Chang’e 6 will now be divided up, and distributed to researchers around China for analysis, though it’s expected the nation will release them to the international community within a couple of years.<\/p>

\"Chang'e
After being loaded up onto a truck, the capsule was covered even further to keep its precious cargo protected.Credit: AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>

China’s Chang\u2019e 6 mission<\/h2>

Chang\u2019e 6 launched from the Wenchang Space Launch site in Wenchang, on the island of Hainan on 3 May.<\/p>

\"A
A view of the lunar South Pole, centred on the Aitken Basin, as captuered by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter. Credit: NASA\/Goddard<\/figcaption><\/figure>

It landed on the far side of the Moon a month later, 2 June, touching down in the South Pole-Aitken basin<\/a>, a 2,500km (1,600mile) wide impact crater.<\/p>

Over the next two days, the spacecraft collected an estimated 2kg of lunar material. Some of this was simply scooped off the surface, while other samples were collected from up to 2m below the surface using a drill.<\/p>

\"China's
Chang’e 6 lander on the surface as it prepares to take its samples of the lunar far-side. Credit: CCTV<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The sample was safely collected and stowed in an ascender craft, which launched it into lunar orbit. Here it was able to meet up with the returner craft, which carried the sample back to Earth and re-entered Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>

What will the Chang\u2019e 6 teach us about the far side of the Moon<\/h2>
\"Russian
Russian probe Luna 3 took the first picture of the Moon\u2019s far side on 7 October 1959<\/figcaption><\/figure>

As our Moon is tidally locked, we only ever see one side of it from Earth.<\/p>

The far side of the Moon<\/a> remained a mystery until 1959, when the Soviet Luna 3 spacecraft returned the first ever images of the region, revealing just how different it appeared to the near side.<\/p>

While the near side is covered with large dark areas called lunar maria<\/a>, created by past volcanic flows, the lunar far side was not.<\/p>

For many years, orbiters remained our only way to view the lunar far side, and while these could give some clues as to its composition, the remote view lacked vital details.<\/p>

A composite animation of the entire Moon’s globe. Credit: Science Photo Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>

When the first ever mission landed on the far side of the Moon \u2013 China\u2019s previous Chang\u2019e 4 mission<\/a> from 2019 \u2013 it lacked many of the geological tools needed to really understand the region.<\/p>

Chang\u2019e 6 will be the first-time researchers will get a good look at what makes up the far side of the Moon.<\/p>

Hopefully, by analysing the samples, geologists will be able to extract clues as to why the two sides of our Moon look so different.<\/p>

They also hope to reveal more details of how the Moon formed<\/a> in the aftermath of a collision with the proto-Earth, increasing our understanding of how our planet was created.<\/p>

\"A
The Moon was formed when a Mars sized object crashed into the proto-Earth. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure> <\/body><\/html>\n
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