China Is Preparing for the Return of Moon Samples From Chang’e 6 Mission

China Is Preparing for the Return of Moon Samples From Chang'e 6 Mission
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University)

China is already preparing for the sample return of its moon mission -- Chang'e 6.

China Gearing Up for the Sample Return From Chang'e 6 Mission

China's ongoing Chang'e 6 mission is almost ready to leave the lunar orbit and bring Earth a mother lode of lunar minerals. At the Institute of Geology and Geophysics in Beijing earlier this month, almost 200 Chinese experts from 31 domestic universities and research institutions participated in a "Chang'e 6 Landing Area Geological Background Seminar."

According to James Head, a leading lunar expert at Brown University, the seminar aims to help scientists throughout China prepare proposals to analyze the Chang'e 6 samples. The workshop was also designed to highlight the geological setting of the sample return landing site in the Apollo Basin and the kinds of scientific issues that can potentially be addressed by analysis of the Chang'e 6 return samples.

The Chang'e 6 multi-component craft launched from the Hainan Province in south China on May 3. On June 1, the lander-ascender combination safely touched down in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the Moon's far side. Over that day and the following, samples were collected.

With that priceless cargo, the probe's ascender segment lifted off the Moon on June 3 and rejoined the orbiter on June 5. In Chang'e 6's return module, the samples stay in orbit around the Moon until it's time to start the voyage back to Earth.

The return capsule will drop into a pre-selected landing zone at Siziwang Banner in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of north China, carrying its trove of lunar artifacts. Regarding reliable sources, the reentry is scheduled for June 25 (Beijing time). The 53-day space mission of Chang'e 6 will end upon capsule touchdown.

The European Space Agency (ESA) reports that Chang'e 6 is receiving assistance from European ground stations. For instance, shortly after its launch on May 3, ESA's Kourou station in French Guiana watched the spacecraft for several hours to validate its orbit.

Around June 25, the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aerospacial (INTA) in Gran Canaria, Spain, operates the agency's Maspalomas station, where ESA will receive signals from the Chang'e 6 return module.

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Chang'e 6 Has Mini Rover?

In related news, China provided an update about its latest moon mission last month. According to the agency, the mission successfully reached the Moon's orbit and will touch down in early June.

Nonetheless, SpaceNews correspondent Andrew Jones, who has been following China's space program, observed a little rover affixed to the lander's side in the images that were made public. It was not big enough for the long-term project.

According to a post from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)-affiliated Shanghai Institute of Ceramics (SIC), Jones pointed out that the little car might be towing an infrared imaging spectrometer.

The addition of an extra rover wasn't a complete surprise, though. China has previously included additional spacecraft in its Mars missions.

It initially launched a disposable spacecraft to collect pictures of the Tianwen-1 orbiter as it traveled through deep space toward the Red Planet for its Tianwen-1 mission to Mars while it was in transfer orbit.