In a world-first attempt, China has sent a rocket probe to the far side of the moon to collect samples in what will be a 53-day mission.

An unmanned rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 probe launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center at around 17:27 local time. the 53-day mission aims to bring back roughly two kilograms of lunar samples to Earth for analysis.

it will attempt to relaunch from the side of the moon facing away from Earth, which is described as the far side of the Moon due to the fact that it can’t be seen from our planet, not because it does not catch the sun’s rays.

The dark side of the Moon has a thicker, older crust with more craters, which are not so covered by ancient lava flows as the near side. Scientists are hoping this mission may make it easier to collect material that could shed light on how the Moon was formed.

State news agency Xinhua hailed the launch as “the first endeavour of its kind in the history of human lunar exploration”.

Neil Melville-Kenney, a technical officer at the European Space Agency working with Chinese researchers on one of the Chang’e-6 payloads, told Reuters: “The far side of the moon has a mystique perhaps because we literally can’t see it, we have never seen it apart from with robotic probes or the very few number of humans that have been around the other side.”

The probe has been named after the Moon goddess and one of the best-known figures in Chinese mythology. It is expected to make a soft landing in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a huge depression that is 2,500km (1,553 miles) wide and up to 8km (5 miles) deep.

Following this, it aims to collect lunar soil and rocks, and conduct experiments, using a drill and a mechanical arm, the China National Space Administration said. The probe will employ a relay satellite named Queqiao 2, to communicate with the Earth, it added.

China Sets Sights on Moon Station and Further Space Exploration

The launch is the first of three unmanned missions to the Moon planned by China this decade.

Chang’e-7, China’s next probe, will scour the south pole for water, and Chang’e-8 will try to establish the technical feasibility of constructing a planned base, known as the International Lunar Research Station.

Its predecessor, Chang’e-5, retrieved the youngest-ever lavas from the Moon on its return in December 2020.

Today’s (Friday, May 3) launch marks the latest stage in China’s space exploration program, which is in competition with the US. Five years ago China became the first country to land a rover on the Moon’s far side.

By 2030, the country aims to have put its first astronauts on the Moon and to have sent probes to collect samples from Mars and Jupiter.

Source: Greekreporter.com