THE China launched on Good Friday one unmanned spacecraft with the aim of collecting samples from the dark side of the Moonin what could prove to be a historic mission significant leap for the country’s ambitious space program.
THE missile carrying the Chang’e 6 space vehicle, was launched from the Wenchang Space Center on the tropical island of Hainan shortly before 17:30 local time (11:30 Greek time), the “New China” agency reported. The goal of this mission is to collect about two kilograms of samples from the dark side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth for analysis. It is a technically complex mission that will last 53 days.
“Chang’e 6 will collect samples from the dark side of the Moon for the first time” Ge Ping, the deputy director of China’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, told reporters.
In 2019, China had landed a spacecraft on the dark side of the Moon, but had not collected any samples.
The Chang’e 6 will land on the south pole of the Moon, on Aitken Crater, one of the largest in the solar system. Then he will collect dirt and stones and make experiments in this zone. After completing the mission, it will return to Earth to land on Wenchang.
Chang’e 6 is the first of three unmanned missions China plans to send to the Moon this decade. The Chang’e 7 it will then explore the lunar south pole in search of water, while the Chang’e 8 will attempt to determine whether it is technically feasible to build a base on Earth’s natural satellite.
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