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China will send a robotic spacecraft in the coming days on a round trip to the moon’s far side in the first of three technically demanding missions that will pave the way for an inaugural Chinese crewed landing and a base on the lunar south pole.
China is expected to launch Chang’e-6 using the backup spacecraft from the 2020 mission, and collect soil and rocks from the side of the moon that faces away from the earth
Chang’e 6
Since the first Chang’e mission in 2007, China has made big leaps in its lunar exploration programme, narrowing the technological chasm with the U.S
In 2020, China brought back samples from the moon’s near side in the first sample retrieval in more than four decades, confirming for the first time it could safely return an uncrewed spacecraft to the earth from the lunar surface
Chang'e 6 is a planned robotic Chinese lunar exploration mission that is expected to launch on 3 May 2024.
It will attempt China's second sample return mission
The primary phase of the mission is expected to last about 53 days.
Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e
The probe is scheduled to be launched by a Long March 5 Y8 carrier rocket on 3 May 2024, from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island, China
The same relay satellite will support the uncrewed Chang’e-7 and 8 missions in 2026 and 2028, respectively, when China starts to explore the south pole for water and build a rudimentary outpost with Russia.
China aims to put its astronauts on the moon by 2030.
On Chang’e-6, China will carry payloads from France, Italy, Sweden and Pakistan, and on Chang’e-7, payloads from Russia, Switzerland and Thailand
Chang’e 6 will attempt to land on the northeastern side of the vast South Pole-Aitken Basin, the oldest known impact crater in the solar system
The south pole has been described by scientists as the “golden belt” for lunar exploration
Chang’e-6’s sample return could also shed more light on the early evolution of the moon and the inner solar system.
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