China Launches Historic Mission to Retrieve Samples from Far Side of the Moon

China has taken a significant leap in its lunar exploration program by launching an uncrewed spacecraft on a nearly two-month mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the far side of the moon. The Chang'e-6 probe, launched on Friday from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan, is the first country to attempt such an ambitious mission.

The Long March-5, China's largest rocket, blasted off at 5:27 p.m. Beijing time (0927 GMT) with the more than 8 metric ton Chang'e-6 probe, which is tasked with landing in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon. This region is of great scientific interest due to its unique geological features and potential resources.

The launch marks another milestone in China's lunar and space exploration program, which has made significant progress in recent years. In 2018, Chang'e-4 gave China its first unmanned moon landing, also on the far side. In 2020, Chang'e-5 marked the first time humans retrieved lunar samples in 44 years, and Chang'e-6 could make China the first country to retrieve samples from the moon's "hidden" side.

The Chang'e-6 mission has attracted international attention, with scientists, diplomats, and space agency officials from France, Italy, Pakistan, and the European Space Agency (ESA) attending the launch. The probe carries payloads from these countries, including a French instrument to study the moon's exosphere and an Italian instrument to analyze the lunar soil.

However, no U.S. organizations have participated in the mission due to a ban on collaboration with NASA imposed by U.S. law. Despite this, the mission has sparked interest among U.S. scientists, who recognize the significance of the mission and the potential for future international collaboration.

The far side of the moon has a mystique due to its inaccessibility, with only a few robotic probes and humans having explored this region. The Chang'e-6 mission aims to uncover new information about the moon's geology, composition, and history, which will help scientists better understand the celestial body closest to Earth.

The mission is also part of a long-term project to build a permanent research station on the moon, the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), led by China and Russia. The construction of such a station would provide an outpost for China and its partners to pursue deep space exploration and potentially utilize the moon's resources in the future.

The Chang'e-6 probe will take four to five days to reach the moon's orbit and in early June it will land on the South Pole-Aitken Basin. Once on the moon, the probe will spend two days digging up 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) of samples before returning to Earth, where it is expected to land in Inner Mongolia. The window for the probe to collect samples on the far side is 14 hours, compared to 21 hours for the near side.

The scientific value of Chang'e-6 lies in the geological age of the South Pole-Aitken Basin, which is estimated to be about 4 billion years old, much older than the samples previously brought back by the Soviet Union and the United States. The mission will also provide new insights into the moon's history, including the timespan of volcanic activity and the presence of new minerals.

China's lunar exploration program has made significant progress in recent years, and the Chang'e-6 mission marks another important step towards establishing a permanent research station on the moon. The mission's success will pave the way for future deep space exploration and potentially unlock new resources for human use.