BEIJING: A Chinese probe carrying samples from the Moon’s far side is expected to return to Earth on Tuesday, concluding a technically complex 53-day mission hailed as a world first.
Beijing has not disclosed the spacecraft’s estimated arrival time, but experts predict it will land in a desolate area of the northern Inner Mongolia region around midday (0400 GMT).
The probe brings back soil and rocks from the Moon’s far side, a region facing away from Earth that is less understood by scientists. This area, with its rugged features minimally smoothed by ancient lava flows, holds significant research potential. The materials collected may provide insights into the Moon’s formation and evolution.
Chang’e-6 launched from a space center in Hainan on May 3 and landed in the Moon’s vast South Pole-Aitken Basin nearly a month later.
The probe employed a drill and robotic arm to gather samples, photographed the cratered surface, and planted a Chinese flag in the grey soil. On June 4th, it achieved the first successful launch from the Moon’s far side, an accomplishment that Chinese state news agency Xinhua hailed as “an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history.”
Since then, authorities have been reticent about the probe’s progress. However, China’s space agency announced on social media last Friday that the probe was “70 percent” of the way back to Earth.
Under President Xi Jinping, China has accelerated its space program, investing heavily over the past decade to match the space achievements of the United States and Russia. China has built a space station, landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, and become the third country to send astronauts into orbit. However, the United States has warned that China’s space ambitions may conceal military objectives and a bid for space dominance.
China aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 and plans to eventually establish a base on the lunar surface. The U.S. also plans to return astronauts to the Moon by 2026 with its Artemis 3 mission.
