Chinese probe successfully lands on the far side of the Moon. Video

China has announced that its Chang'e-6 spacecraft has successfully landed on the far side of the Moon. Early in the morning of June 2, it landed in a predetermined area of the South Pole, Aitken.

This was reported by Reuters with reference to the Chinese National Space Administration. It was recalled that the launch of the Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket with the Chang'e-6 probe took place on May 3 from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

It is noted that within three days, Chang'e-6 will collect up to 2 kg of lunar soil samples, after which it will load them onto a vehicle with the ability to take off from the lunar surface. It will then dock with the capsule in lunar orbit and then return to Earth. In total, the mission will last 53 days.

According to the stated data, the Chang'e-6 probe is equipped with a large number of instruments and its own launcher. And the research mission "involves a lot of engineering innovation, high risks and great difficulties."

The far side of the Moon is constantly facing the Earth and is dotted with deep and dark craters, making communication and robotic landing operations difficult. However, Beijing boasts that this is their second successful mission to the area "that no other country has reached."

"This is a landmark mission that aims to obtain the world's first rock and soil samples from the lunar dark hemisphere. The difficulty is that its far side is never visible from Earth and it is impossible to establish direct radio communication with it. However, China has already carried out a mission in the past with the return of the vehicle from the Moon," the Chinese space agency said.

Beijing expects the Chang'e 6 landing to boost China's "status as a space power" in the global quest for the Moon, where countries including the United States hope to use lunar minerals to support long-term astronaut missions and establish lunar bases over the next decade.

"If all goes according to plan, the mission will provide China with a pristine record of the Moon's 4.5 billion-year history and new clues to the formation of the solar system. It will also allow for an unprecedented comparison between the dark, clear side of the Moon, which is facing the Earth," the media reports.

In 2020, China conducted its first mission with the Chang'e-5 spacecraft, retrieving samples from the lunar nearside. And China's broader strategy includes landing the first astronaut on the Moon around 2030 as part of a program in which Beijing considers Russia, the aggressor country, its partner.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!