Artist’s impression of Chang’e 6 landing on the moon
CGTN
The Chang’e-6 spacecraft will attempt to land on the far side of the moon on June 1. If successful, it will retrieve the first lunar rock samples from this largely unexplored region of the moon to bring back to Earth.
What is the Chang’e 6 spacecraft?
China’s Chang’e series of lunar probes are steadily working on ambitious missions with the ultimate goal of establishing a manned base on the lunar surface in the 2030s. Chang’e-6, launched on May 3 aboard a Long March-5 rocket, is China’s second sample-return mission, following Chang’e-5, which successfully brought back one kilogram of material from the near side of the moon to Earth in 2020.
But Chang’e-6 will attempt to collect around two kilograms of material from the far side of the moon, which always faces away from Earth. Landing on this side is more difficult than on the near side as there is no direct communications link with Earth, which is why very little exploration has been done and no samples have been taken from this region.
Where will Chang’e 6 land on the moon?
The probe is targeting Apollo Crater, located in the southern hemisphere of the far side of the Moon. Scientists hope that these samples may tell us about the amount of water ice trapped in this area for future manned missions. They also hope that they may help elucidate the origin of the South Pole-Aitken impact basin, where Apollo Crater is located, and the formation process of the Moon. In addition to the sample collection instruments, the lander also carries four scientific instruments developed by teams from France, Italy, Pakistan and Sweden that will analyze and explore the landing area.
How will Chang’e 6 land?
The lander, ascent vehicle and orbiter have been orbiting the moon for about three weeks since May 8, with the Chinese space agency waiting for the right orbital conditions to attempt a landing.
On June 1, the lander and ascent module will separate from the probe and begin a roughly 15-minute descent to the lunar surface. The landing process will be largely automated due to delays in communications between Earth and the far side of the moon, but Chinese engineers will be able to communicate with the probe using instructions transmitted via the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, which was launched in March this year and is currently in lunar orbit.
Once on the lunar surface, the lander will use a robotic scoop and drill to collect surface rock and dust samples, then dig about two meters into the lunar surface to access deeper sediments. Collecting these samples will take about two days.
When will Chang’e 6 return to Earth?
Once the lander has successfully collected a lunar sample, it will be transferred to the ascent module, which will launch autonomously from the Moon and rendezvous with the orbital module after a six-minute flight, after which the sample will be transferred to a return capsule capable of withstanding the descent through Earth’s atmosphere.
If all goes according to plan, the return sample capsule is scheduled to arrive on Earth on June 25 and land at Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia.
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