The first ever piece of the lunar far-side safely returned to Earth onboard China's Chang'e 6 mission

The first ever piece of the lunar far-side safely returned to Earth onboard China's Chang'e 6 mission

Published: June 25, 2024 at 4:09 pm

China’s Chang’e 6 probe has returned the first ever sample from the far side of the Moon safely to Earth.

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.

“The Chang’e 6 lunar exploration mission has been a complete success,” said Zhang Kejian, head of China’s National Space Administration.

China's Chang'e 6 being being loaded onto truck after it returned a sample of the lunar far side to Earth.
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

The recovery team, who had been eagerly waiting nearby, located the return capsule within minutes.

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.

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.

Chang'e 6 capsule covered in a blue covering after it returned from the lunar far side
After being loaded up onto a truck, the capsule was covered even further to keep its precious cargo protected. Credit: AFP via Getty Images

China's Chang’e 6 mission

Chang’e 6 launched from the Wenchang Space Launch site in Wenchang, on the island of Hainan on 3 May.

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
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

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

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.

China's Chang'e 6 probe collects the sample it returns from the far side of the Moon
Chang'e 6 lander on the surface as it prepares to take its samples of the lunar far-side. Credit: CCTV

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’s atmosphere.

What will the Chang’e 6 teach us about the far side of the Moon

Russian probe Luna 3 took the first picture of the Moon’s far side on 7 October 1959
Russian probe Luna 3 took the first picture of the Moon’s far side on 7 October 1959

As our Moon is tidally locked, we only ever see one side of it from Earth.

The far side of the Moon 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.

While the near side is covered with large dark areas called lunar maria, created by past volcanic flows, the lunar far side was not.

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.

A composite animation of the entire Moon's globe. Credit: Science Photo Library

When the first ever mission landed on the far side of the Moon – China’s previous Chang’e 4 mission from 2019 – it lacked many of the geological tools needed to really understand the region.

Chang’e 6 will be the first-time researchers will get a good look at what makes up the far side of the Moon.

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

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

A small rocky body crashing into a larger one.
The Moon was formed when a Mars sized object crashed into the proto-Earth. Credit: NASA
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