First time in history, China's Chang'e-6 delivers soil samples taken from far side of the Moon

This morning, at 07:38 Beijing time (03:38 Yerevan time), the flight module of China's Chang'e-6 automatic interplanetary station launched soil samples taken from the far side of the Moon into satellite orbit. This is happening for the first time in the history of space travel. scientists have not yet had samples from Earth on the unseen side of the satellite.

The station performed a significant amount of operations in automatic mode. Instructions were also transmitted from Earth, which reached the device thanks to the Queqiao-2 relay satellite. Sample collection began with drilling, after which the robotic arm collected soil and rock samples from the lunar surface.

In total, about 2 kg of samples were collected. They were sealed in a hermetic capsule and placed in the flight module. The module lifted the capsule into lunar orbit, where it will later attach to the module for orbit and return to Earth. The samples will then be shipped to Earth within about three weeks. they will be dropped in capsules in the northern part of China.

The Chang'e-6 mission was launched on May 3, 2024. On May 9, the station entered the lunar orbit. The landing on the moon took place on June 2. The device landed in the Apollo Basin at the South Pole, which in turn is located in the Aitken Basin. This is one of the oldest impact craters on the Moon. The samples obtained from it will tell a lot about the early stages of the Moon's geological history. And if that's not enough, the Chang'e-6 mission is a significant step forward in the technological development of space travel.