China has achieved a remarkable feat by successfully landing its Chang’e-6 spacecraft on the far side of the moon. The landing took place in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on Sunday, and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has released footage from a downward-facing camera attached to the uncrewed spacecraft. The video shows the surface of the moon up close as the vehicle comes in to land.
Landing on the far side of the moon is a challenging task due to the location’s orientation, which presents communication challenges between the lander and mission controllers. China is the only country to have achieved this feat, having done so previously during the Chang’e-4 mission in 2019.
The Chang’e-6 lander deployed an autonomous visual obstacle avoidance system to ensure a smooth landing. This system helped to keep the spacecraft away from hazards such as large rocks or deep pits. The landing process was supported by China’s Queqiao-2 relay satellite, which hovered above the lunar surface at an altitude of about 100 meters. Once a safe landing area had been selected, the final descent process could proceed.
The Chang’e-6 mission launched on May 3 and will spend several days gathering the first rock and soil from the far side of the moon. The samples will be brought back to Earth later this month so that scientists can study them in laboratory conditions. The CNSA hopes that the findings will reveal more about how celestial bodies are formed and the origin of water in our solar system, among other things.
China has previously successfully brought lunar samples to Earth as part of the Chang’e-5 mission in 2020. The country is now considering building a permanent base on the moon, where humans will be able to live and work in unique conditions, similar to how crews spend time in China’s respective space station in low-Earth orbit today.
China Successfully Lands Chang’e-6 Spacecraft on Far Side of Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin
The CNSA is confident that it can achieve its ambitious goal of understanding the moon’s formation and the origin of water in our solar system through the Chang’e-6 mission. The agency has already made significant progress in lunar exploration, and this mission is expected to provide valuable insights into the moon’s composition and evolution.
The Chang’e-6 spacecraft is equipped with advanced scientific instruments that will help to gather data on the moon’s geology, composition, and atmosphere. The spacecraft includes instruments such as a lunar seismic experiment, a lunar magnetometer, and a solar wind detector. The data collected by these instruments will provide valuable information about the moon’s internal structure, its surface composition, and its interaction with the solar wind.
The Chang’e-6 mission is an important step in China’s lunar exploration program, and it is expected to pave the way for future manned missions to the moon. China is planning to land taikonauts on the moon in the near future, and the Chang’e-6 mission will provide valuable insights into the feasibility and challenges of such a mission.
The successful landing of the Chang’e-6 spacecraft on the far side of the moon is a significant achievement for China’s space program. The mission is expected to provide valuable insights into the moon’s composition and evolution, and it is an important step in China’s lunar exploration program. The CNSA is confident that its findings will reveal more about how celestial bodies are formed and the origin of water in our solar system, among other things.
