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China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft blasted back to Earth from the far side of the moon on Tuesday after collecting rock samples for the first time from a little-explored region of the moon, an ambitious mission that highlights the country’s growing stature as a major space power.
BEIJING: China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft blasted off back to Earth from the moon’s far side on Tuesday after collecting rock samples from a less-explored region of the moon for the first time, in an ambitious mission that shows the country’s growing stature as a major space power. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) said the Chang’e-6 spacecraft’s “ascender” entered a pre-determined orbit around the moon after flying back from the far side of the moon. It took off at 7:38 am Beijing time on Tuesday after collecting samples from the moon’s far side, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
It may take about three weeks to return to Earth and it may land in China’s Mongolia region on June 25. CNSA said that after collecting the samples, China’s national flag mounted on the lander was hoisted for the first time on the far side of the moon. Chang’e-6 has an orbiter, a returner, a lander and an ascender. This mission is named after China’s mythological moon goddess. Chang’e-6 mission has been given the task of collecting and returning samples from the far side of the moon, which is a first of its kind attempt. India last year became the first country to land near the less explored south pole part of the moon.
Its Chandrayaan-3 lander carrying the Pragyan rover had successfully landed there. Chang’e-6 landed on June 2 in a huge crater called the South Pole-Aitken Basin for the first time in human history. The CNSA said that the spacecraft collected samples in a container. It has adopted two methods to collect samples from the moon, including using a drill to collect subsurface samples and collecting samples from the surface through robots. Chang’e-6 mission spokesman Jie Ping said that detailed analysis of the soil structure, physical characteristics and material composition of Chang’e-6 samples will enable scientists to study in depth the history of the formation and evolution of the moon. China aims to send a human to the moon before 2030.
Disclaimer: CricketInFocus has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
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