On June 4, after several days with virtually no communications, several images and videos of the surface operations of the Chang’e 6 probe were released. They showed the drilling and rock sample collection operations, as well as the launch of the module of ascent that brought them back to lunar orbit.
In addition to this, photos of the probe were shown for the first time, taken by a small rover that moved away from the lander to take the cover photo in this article. Truly incredible. Below we have collected the main photos and videos published so far.
This below is a wide-angle photo of the area where the Chang’e 6 probe landed, the Apollo crater in the South-Aitken basin on the far side of the Moon.
In the following gallery we see some of the images of the loading operations of the rock samples collected with the drill and while they are inserted inside the capsule that brought them back into orbit.
China aimed to collect around 2kg of the material, but it has not been confirmed whether this target has been achieved.
In the following video we see the departure of the ascent module towards lunar orbit, starting from above the lander that collected the rock samples. The ascent module will perform a rendevous with the service module in orbit in the next few days, and then they will depart to return to Earth. Landing in the Mongolian desert is scheduled for June 25.
In this further video you can see a detail of some of the surface operations carried out with the robotic arm for sample collection. In this case we do not see the drill in detail, but the collection of samples by scraping the regolith. It can be seen that a camera was also available on the end of the robotic arm.
–> Article being updated!
