Beijing celebrated another space triumph: the Chang’e 6 probe touched down on the lunar surface at 6:23 am on Sunday 2 June (in Italy it was 00:23 on the same day), inside the Apollo crater, in the vast South Pole-Aitken basin. The confirmation came from the Chinese space agency (CNSA), which underlines how the moon landing took place “successfully in the pre-selected area”, marking a new record for the Asian nation.
This is in fact the second time that China has managed to land a probe on the face of the Moon not seen from Earth, a feat never achieved by any other country. The first time was in January 2019, with the Chang’e 4 mission, which deposited a rover on lunar soil.
This lunar region, perpetually hidden from view from Earth, presents particular challenges for its exploration, due to the complexity of communications and the rugged nature of the terrain, dotted with craters.
Launched on May 3, the probe reached lunar orbit after a journey of about a week, during which it perfected its trajectory in preparation for landing. The following video, sped up, shows the moon landing phase.
The main goal of Chang’e 6 is to collect samples of lunar soil and rock, a feat never before attempted on the dark side of our satellite.
Over the next few days, the lander will use a robotic arm and a drill to pick up about 2kg of material, which will then be transferred to an ascent module. The latter will attach to the orbiter in lunar orbit for the return journey to Earthwith expected landing in China’s Inner Mongolia region around June 25.
If successful, the mission will provide China with valuable information on the geological history of the Moon, helping to reveal the secrets of his trainingdating back 4.5 billion years ago.
The samples collected by Chang’e 6 will also be compared with those taken by the Chang’e 5 mission in 2020 on the visible side of the Moonoffering an unprecedented opportunity to study the differences between the two faces of our satellite.
China’s ambitious lunar program also includes sending a human crew by 2030, in collaboration with Russia. NASA’s Artemis program should do so by 2026.
