China Rocket Launches Towards Moon's Far Side

In what is being billed a world first, China has launched a probe to collect samples from the far side of the Moon. 

An uncrewed rocket carrying the Chang'e-6 probe blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center at about 17:27 local time (10:27 BST).

The 53-day mission aims to bring around two kilograms of lunar samples to Earth for analysis.

The planned relaunch is set to occur from the side of the Moon that faces away from Earth, often referred to as the dark side not because it lacks sunlight, but because it remains unseen from Earth. 

This region boasts a thicker, more ancient crust adorned with numerous craters, which are less obscured by ancient lava flows compared to the near side. Scientists anticipate that these unique features could facilitate the collection of material crucial for understanding the Moon's formation. 

Ge Ping, vice director of China's Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, highlighted that Chang'e-6 will be the first mission to gather samples from the far side of the Moon, named after the revered Moon goddess from Chinese mythology.

It is expected to make a soft landing in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a vast depression which is 2,500km (1,553 miles) wide and up to 8km (5 miles) deep.

It then aims to collect lunar soil and rocks, and conduct experiments, using a drill and a mechanical arm, the China National Space Administration said.

It will use a relay satellite named Queqiao 2 to communicate with the Earth, it added.

The launch marks the first of three uncrewed missions to the moon planned by China this decade.

Chang'e-7 will search the lunar south pole for water, and Chang'e-8 will attempt to establish the technical feasibility of building a planned base, known as the International Lunar Research Station.

Chang'e-5, the predecessor of this mission, successfully brought back the youngest lunar lavas ever retrieved when it returned in December 2020. 

The launch scheduled for Friday signifies the ongoing progress of China's space exploration program, which is in competition with that of the US. China achieved a significant milestone five years ago by becoming the first nation to land a rover on the far side of the Moon. Looking ahead, China aims to land its first astronauts on the Moon by 2030 and intends to send probes to gather samples from both Mars and Jupiter