China’s Chang’e 6 Mission To Bring First Lunar Samples Obtained From the Far Side of the Moon

China's Chang'e 6 Mission to Bring First Lunar Samples Obtained From the Far Side of the Moon
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Shujianyang)

China's Chang'e 6 sample return mission is heading back to Earth, and researchers are excited for the lunar sample it is bringing back home.

Chang'6 Lunar Samples Excite Researchers

After spending nearly two months on the Moon to gather lunar samples, Chang'e 6 is returning to Earth. It is expected to land in Mongolia with the first sample from the far side of the Moon.

Lunar experts keenly anticipate the return of the Chang'e 6 probe. About 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of lunar samples—the first specimens from the lunar far side to be returned to Earth—are being transported by Chang'e 6. After the Chinese spacecraft's anticipated landing at 1:41 a.m. EDT (0541 GMT), a small group of scientists on Earth will be able to obtain the valuable samples and prepare them for in-depth analysis.

Being the first samples from the far side of the Moon, the [Chang'e 6] samples are expected to provide a response to one of the most important scientific queries in lunar science studies: "What geologic activity is responsible for the differences between the two sides?" said Zongyu Yue, a geologist of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a statement.

Nine different lunar missions, from the Soviet Luna 16 mission in 1970 to NASA's crewed Apollo flights and a few robotic probes, have recovered and returned parts of the Moon to Earth. However, all nine samples were from the near side of the Moon.

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China Is Already Preparing For Chang'e 6's Return

Earlier this month, almost 200 Chinese experts from 31 domestic universities gathered and participated in the "Chang'e 6 Landing Area Geological Background Seminar" at Beijing's Institute of Geology and Geophysics. The event aims to prepare them for the anticipated lunar samples from the far side of the Moon.

According to James Head, a leading lunar expert at Brown University, the conference's goal is to assist scientists across China in putting together proposals for the Chang'e 6 sample analysis. The workshop was also intended to emphasize the types of scientific problems that could be resolved by analyzing the Chang'e 6 return samples and the geological context of the sample return landing location in the Apollo Basin.

The Chang'e 6 multi-component craft was launched from the south Chinese province of Hainan on May 3. Following its launch, China's National Space Administration spaced a photo of the spacecraft that appeared to include an undisclosed mini rover. The addition wasn't new, though, as China also included an extra spacecraft in its other space missions. For instance, during the Tianwen-1 Mars probe, it launched a disposable spacecraft to take photos of the orbiter as it traveled through deep space toward the Red Planet.

Meanwhile, the lander-ascender combo Chang'e 6 securely landed on June 1 on the far side of the Moon's South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin. The probe's ascender segment lifted off the Moon on June 3 with that precious cargo, and on June 5, it rejoined the orbiter. The samples onboard Chang'e 6's return module remain in orbit around the Moon until the journey back to Earth begins.