China's Chang'e-6 makes historic moon landing and collects samples

The Chinese space probe Chang'e-6 began its mission on May 3, 2024, and less than a month later it reached the far side of the Moon. Its landing site was the southern part of the Apollo Crater in the South Pole-Aitken basin region.

"Mission accomplished! #ChangE6 has taken off from lunar surface after finishing the rapid intelligent sampling work & displaying China’s national flagfor the first time on the far side of the moon. An unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history!" commented the Deputy Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, Hua Chunying.

Experts at Phys.org highlight the remarkable progress of the Chinese space program. Their objective is to send humans to the Moon before the end of this decade, potentially making China the second country after the United States to achieve such a milestone.

The landing of the Chinese space probe Chang'e-6 on the far side of the Moon is recognized as a major success for the China National Space Administration (CNSA). This accomplishment was further celebrated on the lunar surface.

Before returning, the Chang'e-6 probe unfurled the Chinese flag. According to an animation by the Chinese news agency Xinhua, a small flag made of special composite materials was used. The lunar lander's arm extended the flag but was not planted into the surface of the Moon. This gesture confirms the mission's success and demonstrates the nation's strength.

The Chang'e-6 probe collected approximately 4 lbs of rock and soil samples, which it placed in a container inside the ascending element of the probe. Unlike previous missions by the United States and the Soviet Union, this mission collected samples from the far side of the Moon.

The container was transferred to the return capsule, which began its journey to Earth. The capsule with the lunar rock and soil samples is expected to land in the deserts of China's Inner Mongolia region on June 25.