The Chang'e-6 is on a technically complex 53-day mission that began on May 3. (Representative)
Beijing:
China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe has successfully landed on the far side of the moon to collect samples, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday – the latest leap for Beijing's decades-old space program.
The Chang'e-6 crashed into the immense South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, Xinhua said, citing the China National Space Administration.
According to the agency, it is the first time samples have been collected from the rarely explored part of the moon.
The Chang'e-6 is on a technically complex 53-day mission that began on May 3.
Now that the probe has landed, it will attempt to scoop up lunar soil and rocks and conduct other experiments in the landing zone.
That process should be completed within two days, Xinhua said. The probe will use two collection methods: a drill to collect samples beneath the surface and a robotic arm to grab samples from the surface.
It must then attempt an unprecedented launch from the side of the moon that always faces away from Earth.
Scientists say the dark side of the moon – so called because it is invisible from Earth and not because it never catches the sun's rays – is promising for research because its craters are less covered by ancient lava flows than the near side.
Material collected on the dark side can shed better light on how the moon formed in the first place.
China's space ambitions
Plans for China's 'space dream' have accelerated under President Xi Jinping.
Beijing has poured huge sums into its space program over the past decade, focusing on a series of ambitious ventures in an effort to close the gap with the two traditional space powers – the United States and Russia.
It has accomplished several notable feats, including building a space station called Tiangong, or “heavenly palace.”
Beijing has landed robotic vehicles on Mars and the moon, and China is only the third country to independently put humans into orbit.
But Washington has warned that China's space program is being used to mask military objectives and attempt to establish dominance in space.
China wants to send a manned mission to the moon by 2030 and plans to build a base on the moon's surface.
The United States also plans to put astronauts back on the moon by 2026 with its Artemis 3 mission.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)