China Lands on the Far Side of the Moon
- Updated Monday Jun 03 2024
China Lands on the Far Side of the Moon
The Chang'e-6 set down in the immense South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, Xinhua said, citing the China National Space Administration.
This makes China the first country to land and collect samples from the far side.
The initial experiments are expected to be complete in the first couple of days.
Then the lunar module will attempt an unprecedented launch from the side facing away from the Earth.
Scientists say the Moon's dark side -- so-called because it is invisible from Earth, not because it never catches the sun's rays -- holds great promise for research because its craters are less covered by ancient lava flows than the near side.
Material collected from the dark side may better shed light on how the Moon formed in the first place.
The United States is also planning to put astronauts back on the Moon by 2026 with its Artemis 3 mission.
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