Moon Mission Chang'e-6 is Underway - Lunar rock samples make it to Chinese retrieval vessel
China is making major progress in its quest to retrieve moon rocks from the lunar surface's hidden side. Xinhua, the nation's official news outlet, reports that the ascending segment of their lunar probe, "Chang'e-6," has successfully linked up with the main craft comprising an orbiter and a re-entry vehicle in the moon's orbit, completing the docking process.
Once joined, the gathered specimens were seamlessly transferred to the re-entry vehicle. The return journey is now set to kick off "at an appropriate moment." China has slated the landing to occur in Inner Mongolia's northern region.
This endeavor kicked off in early May when "Chang'e-6" was propelled from the Wenchang Space Launch Center situated on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. After roughly four and a half days of traveling, the probe arrived in the moon's orbit and then spent time scouting for optimal conditions for setting down.
Last weekend, it arrived at the South Pole-Aitken Basin's largest and oldest crater, a site that scientists have been keen on exploring to acquire samples. These rocks could provide valuable information about the moon's, Earth's, and solar system's early beginnings.
