China Launches Uncrewed Mission To Retrieve Moon Rocks
China on Friday launched an uncrewed mission of nearly two-month journey to gather rocks and soil from the far side of the moon, achieving a groundbreaking feat as the first country to undertake such an ambitious endeavour.
The Long March-5, China’s largest rocket, took off at 5:27 p.m. Beijing time (0927 GMT) from Wenchang Space Launch Centre situated on the southern island of Hainan, carrying the more than 8 metric ton Chang’e-6 probe.
Assigned with the mission to touch down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin located on the far side of the moon, perpetually hidden from Earth’s view, Chang’e-6 aims to collect and bring back samples.
This launch signifies yet another significant advancement in China’s lunar and space exploration program.
“It is a bit of a mystery to us how China has been able to develop such an ambitious and successful programme in such a short time,” said Pierre-Yves Meslin, a French researcher working on one of the scientific objectives of the Chang’e-6 mission.
In 2018, Chang’e-4 achieved China’s inaugural unmanned moon landing, similarly on the far side. Then, in 2020, Chang’e-5 heralded the first instance in 44 years of humans retrieving lunar samples, while Chang’e-6 holds the potential to position China as the pioneer in gathering samples from the moon’s “hidden” side.
Scientists, diplomats, and space agency officials from France, Italy, Pakistan, and the European Space Agency witnessed the launch of Chang’e-6, which carries payloads for studying the moon.
Also Read: China Launches Satellite for Moon Exploration Mission
However, Ge Ping, deputy director of China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) Lunar Exploration and Space Program, noted that no U.S. organizations sought payload opportunities. Collaboration between China and NASA is prohibited by U.S. law.
“The far side of the moon has a mystique perhaps because we literally can’t see it, we have never seen it apart from with robotic probes or the very few number of humans that have been around the other side,” said Neil Melville-Kenney, a technical officer at ESA working with Chinese researchers on one of the Chang’e-6 payloads. Once the probe separates from the rocket, it will take four to five days to enter the moon’s orbit.
In early June, a few weeks later, it will land. Upon reaching the lunar surface, the probe will dedicate two days to excavating 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) of samples before embarking on its return journey to Earth, with a landing expected in Inner Mongolia.
The window for sample collection on the far side spans 14 hours, compared to 21 hours for the near side.
The samples retrieved by Chang’e-5 enabled Chinese scientists to uncover fresh insights into the moon, including more precise dating of lunar volcanic activity and the discovery of a new mineral. Ge highlighted the scientific significance of Chang’e-6, particularly in determining the geological age of the South Pole-Aitken Basin, estimated at approximately 4 billion years.
This age surpasses the previously obtained samples from the Soviet Union and the United States, which were approximately 3 billion years old, as well as the 2-billion-year-old samples from Chang’e-5.
Reuters
