Moon-gathered samples undergo reentry back to Earth by Chinese spacecraft

Moon-gathered samples undergo reentry back to Earth by Chinese spacecraft

"The "Chang'e-6" spacecraft blasted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on Hainan Island, China, on May 3 and touched down on the moon's far side in the South Pole-Aitken Basin crater around a month later. Following its arrival, the probe apparently dug up material beneath the lunar surface using a drilling device and scooped up samples using a robotic arm, as reported by Xinhua. Upon successfully gathering the samples, the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) is said to have planted the Chinese flag on the moon's far side for the very first time.

This spacecraft has become the first ever to return to Earth with lunar samples collected from the moon's far side. The scientific community is eagerly anticipating the research that will stem from the study of the far side of the moon due to its surface not being heavily covered by lava, making it simpler to examine rocks that could offer insights into the moon's genesis.

The Chinese mission is yet another accomplishment in their ambitious space program. The People's Republic is striving to establish itself as a dominant force in space, having allocated vast resources into its space program under President Xi Jinping. China achieved its first achievement with "Chang'e-4" in 2019, making history as the first nation to land a probe on the moon's far side.

In the subsequent "Chang'e-5" mission, China brought lunar samples back to Earth in 2020, making them the third nation to do so, after the USA and the Soviet Union. However, those samples were retrieved from the moon's near side. In the upcoming weeks and months, the samples retrieved from the moon's far side will undergo intense scrutiny.

Following China, the Soviet Union and the USA, it sent humans into space. China has also successfully landed a probe on Mars and built the space station Tiangong ("Heavenly Palace"), which has been inhabited since 2022. By 2030, China plans a manned lunar landing mission, and they also aspire to establish a permanent facility on the moon's surface.

The USA views China's space program as an attempt to attain military objectives from space. The USA plans to send astronauts back to the moon with Mission Artemis 3, slated for 2026."

Read also:

1. The samples gathered by the "Chang'e-6" probe from the moon's far side will journey back to Earth, providing researchers with a unique opportunity to study rocks from that lunar region.
2. The Soviet Union and the USA, like China, have also embarked on space travel, with the latter sending humans into space and successfully landing a probe on Mars.
3. After the successful return of samples from the moon's far side by the Chinese spacecraft, international scientists are eager to analyze the rocks to gain insights into the moon's formation.
4. The Soviet Union was the second nation to put a man in space, while the USA became the first, paving the way for the space race of the Cold War era.
5. China's space program has progressed significantly, most notably with the "Chang'e-6" mission, which marked the first time lunar samples from the moon's far side were brought back to Earth.
6. Just as the USA plans to return astronauts to the moon with Mission Artemis 3 in 2026, China aspires to establish a permanent facility on the moon's surface by 2030.
7. Xinhua reported that the Chinese flag was planted on the moon's far side upon the successful retrieval of samples, marking a significant milestone in China's ambitious space program.

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