Reported by BBC NEWS
China’s lunar probe has come back to Earth with the first-ever models from the Moon’s unknown far side.
On Tuesday, the Chang’e-6 disembarked in the Inner Mongolia desert, after a closely two-month extended mission that was embedded with danger.
Scientists are passionately awaiting the Chang’e-6 as the models could reply to key questions about how planets are created.
China is the only country to have anchored on the distant side of the Moon, having done so before in 2019.
The distant side – which encounters away from Earth – is technically problematic to contact due to its length, and its complicated landscape of huge hollows and periodic flat covers.
Scientists are inquisitive about this less-discovered side as it is expected it may include indications of ice, which can be gathered for water, oxygen, and hydrogen.
The Chang’e-6 mission is a symbol of pride for a nation which has trekked up its missions to the moon – attracting concentration from its opponent, the US.
State media displayed officers tending the Chinese flag with an embellishment just after the Chang’e-6 capsule anchored in the desert of Inner Mongolia.
China’s President Xi Jinping has contacted to compliment those at the control centre of the Chang’e-6 mission.
Mr Xi claimed, “he hopes they can carry on exploring deep space and reaching new heights in unravelling the mysteries of the universe… to benefit humanity and advance the nation.”
The Chang’e-6 demolished from a space hub in early May and successfully dismounted on a crater near to the Moon’s south pole a few weeks later. Its mission lasted 53 days.
The probe will be sent to Beijing and samples will be retrieved there, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
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This is China’s sixth mission to the Moon, and its second to the far side. The probe is named after the moon goddess Chang’e in Chinese mythology.
The probe operated a training and a robotic arm to dig dirt and rocks, take some photos of the exterior and plant a Chinese flag.
Beijing has swelled enormous resources into its space schedule over the past decade to witness both the US and Russia.
It proposes to transmit a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 and prepares to ultimately create a base on the lunar south pole.
The US also intends to place astronauts back on the Moon by 2026 with its Artemis 3 mission.
Analysts believe “the next space race will not just be about putting people on the moon – it will be about who can stake their claim and control lunar resources.”
