China to launch Chang'e 6 spacecraft for moon mission

China to launch Chang'e 6 spacecraft for moon mission
by Simon Mansfield
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Apr 26, 2024

In a significant advancement in lunar exploration, China is preparing to launch the Chang'e 6 mission, aiming to retrieve samples from the uncharted far side of the moon. The mission is set for early May, with the spacecraft and its carrier rocket, the Long March 5, recently positioned at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province.

This mission follows the success of Chang'e 5, China's first lunar sample return mission, which collected moon rocks from the near side. Unlike its predecessor, Chang'e 6 will target the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a massive impact crater on the moon's far side that has intrigued scientists due to its geological composition and potential water ice deposits.

Chang'e 6 is a complex spacecraft consisting of four main components: an orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and a reentry module. The lander is designed to touch down in the Basin, where it will use its suite of scientific instruments to conduct surface analysis and collect up to two kilograms of lunar soil and rocks. Once the samples are collected, the ascender will rendezvous with the orbiter in lunar orbit, transferring the samples to the reentry module, which will then return them to Earth.

The significance of Chang'e 6's mission extends beyond its technical achievements. If successful, it will be the first mission to return samples from the moon's far side, potentially offering new insights into the moon's history and enhancing our understanding of its geological processes. This area of the moon remains one of the least understood regions due to its unique location and the challenges associated with direct communication from Earth.

China's lunar program has made considerable strides in recent years. The Chang'e 4 mission, which was the first to land on the moon's far side in January 2019, has provided valuable data about the surface and subsurface composition of the area. Building on this, Chang'e 6 aims to further explore this unexplored terrain, contributing to a broader scientific community eager to learn more about our celestial neighbor.

The upcoming launch marks not only a milestone for China's space exploration efforts but also a significant step forward in the international quest to understand more about the moon's diverse environments. The mission's success could pave the way for future manned missions to the moon and potentially, the establishment of a lunar base.

Based on a Xinhua News Agency article