China's Chang’e-6, to study dark side of the moon
China launches uncrewed probe, Chang’e-6, to study dark side of the moon
In a historic effort, China’s biggest rocket launched into orbit with the Chang’e-6 lunar probe, set on a roughly two-month mission to gather rocks and dirt from the moon’s far side.
At 5:27 p.m. (09:27 GMT) on Friday, the Long March-5 rocket carrying the over eight-ton probe took off from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in the southern island province of Hainan.
Approximately two kilogrammes of lunar samples are to be brought to Earth for study during the 53-day mission.
Reports stated that it will attempt a second launch from the moon’s side that faces away from Earth.
It is not because it blocks out the sun’s light but rather because it is invisible from Earth that this side of the moon is frequently referred to as the “dark side.”
Compared to the close side, it has a thicker, older crust with more craters that are less buried in old lava flows.
Scientists anticipate that this will facilitate the collection of materials that may provide insight into the formation of the Moon.
Before the launch, Ge Ping, vice director of China’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Centre, informed reporters: “Chang’e-6 will collect samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time.”
“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.
According to Xinhua, the Chang’e-6 has an ascender, lander, and orbiter in addition to a system that enables it to return to Earth, much like its predecessor, the Chang’e-5.
Chang’e-6 may become China the first nation to collect samples from the moon’s “hidden” side, following Chang’e-5, which in 2020 marked the first time humans had taken samples from the moon in 44 years.
Chang’e-6 is scheduled to land at the South Pole-Aitken Basin, which is located on the moon’s mysterious dark side that is always facing away from Earth.
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