Lunar probe Chang’e 6 sits atop a rocket at China’s Wenchang Space Launch Center
VCG (via Getty Images)
The Chang’e 6 spacecraft is heading to the moon to bring back samples from the far side of the moon. China’s mission is scheduled to lift off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center aboard a Long March 5 rocket between 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Japan time, and will be part of a series of lunar explorations that will eventually lead to a planned manned mission. This is the latest in a number of initiatives.
If Chang’e 6 is successful, it will be China’s second sample return mission to the moon, and the first time dust has been collected from the moon’s far side and returned to Earth.
Landing on the far side of the moon, which never faces Earth, is more complicated than landing on the near side of the moon. Although signals can be sent directly to the nearside spacecraft, landing on the farside would require a communications satellite to relay the signal around the moon. In preparation for this and other missions, China has sent two such satellites into lunar orbit.
The Chang’e 6 probe was built as a backup to the Chang’e 5 probe, which sent back samples from the far side of the moon in 2020. The steps for this mission are the same as last time. Once the spacecraft reaches lunar orbit, a few days after launch, the lander and ascent module will separate and fall to the surface, heading for a crater near the moon’s south pole.
The lander carries four scientific instruments (one each from France, Italy, Pakistan, and Sweden) to study the area around the landing site. It is also equipped with a drill and scoop to grab about 2 kilograms of lunar material to be loaded onto the ascent module.
Once the mission is complete, the ascent module will take off, reunite with the orbiter, and return to Earth. If all goes as expected, the mission will last 53 days, 30 days longer than Chang’e 5.
These samples could be crucial to understanding the history of the Moon, Earth, and the entire solar system. These should help us understand the many asteroids and asteroid fragments that hit Earth and the Moon during a period known as the Late Heavy Bombardment, about 3.9 billion years ago, and also explain why the rocks on the Moon’s far side are different. I may be able to do it. From people close to you.
Chang’e 6 is the beginning of “Phase IV” of China’s planned lunar exploration program, which will consist of two more robotic missions including small flying probes. After that, there are plans to begin sending manned missions to the moon, and possibly building a permanent lunar base.
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