Last Tuesday, June 25, China’s unmanned Chang’e-6 probe successfully landed in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, bringing with it samples from the Moon. But these are not just any samples, as they are those collected from the dark side of the satellite, an achievement that makes China the first country to bring such rocks back to Earth.
Now China not only stands out for landing on the moon in an area never visited before, but also for significantly strengthening its space program.
China’s Chang’e-6 brings back samples from the Moon
Zhang Kejian, director of CNSA, described the Chang’e-6 mission as a “complete success. Chang’e-6 mission as a “complete success”. . The probe lifted off May 3 from Hainan province in southern China and traveled to the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the Moon, where it collected 2 kilograms of lunar rocks.
The Moon’s synchronous rotation, which always shows the same face towards the Earth, makes its dark side particularly difficult to explore. The new samples could provide answers to mysteries about the early history of the Moon and Earth, such as the time frame of lunar cratering after asteroid impacts. such as the time frame of lunar cratering after asteroid impacts.
Landing of the Chinese Chang’e 6 probe with samples from the Moon. Source: EL PAIS.
China makes space mission history
Historically, the United States, China and the former Soviet Union have collected samples from the near side of the Moon, but China is the first country to bring back material from the far side. China has ambitious plans for more lunar missions this decade, aiming to establish an international lunar research base in collaboration with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, and to eventually land a Chinese astronaut on the Moon. .
Meanwhile, the U.S., through NASA and SpaceX, continues to move forward with the Artemis Program program, which includes flight tests, vehicle improvements and manned missions to the Moon. Artemis 2, the first mission that will once again carry astronauts to the lunar surface, is expected to lift off later this year. These missions aim to prepare the ground for future manned missions and to establish a permanent lunar base as a prelude to Mars colonization.
In February of this year, NASA and SpaceX’s joint mission, Odysseus, achieved the first private-sector lunar landing near the south pole, providing vital information for future missions, according to Euro News. the first private-sector landing near the lunar south pole, providing vital information for future missions, according to Euro News. In January of this year, Japan became the fifth country to achieve a controlled landing on the Moon with its lander Slim which landed with unprecedented precision near the Shioli crater. The competition for space now involves multiple nations, marking a new era in space exploration.
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Source and photo: urgente24
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