China launches Chang'e-6 probe for first time

By Alimat Aliyeva

China has successfully launched the Chang'e-6 automatic space station to collect soil samples from the far side of the moon for the first time in history, Azernews reports.

The launch was carried out using the Changzheng-5 Y8 launch vehicle from the Wenchang cosmodrome on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. The Chang'e-6 automatic space Station consists of an orbital, landing, takeoff and return modules. As part of international cooperation, scientific instruments from France, Italy and the European Space Agency are on board the lander, and a small satellite from Pakistan is on board the orbital module.

The Apollo impact crater, located in the South Pole-Aitken basin, was chosen as the landing site on the far side of the Moon.
Chang'e-6 will make a soft landing on the moon. The device will collect samples of lunar soil using a drilling rig and a robotic bucket.

After the samples are collected and sealed in a container, the take-off module will leave the Moon and dock with the orbiter in lunar orbit. The return module will then deliver the samples back to Earth and land in northern China, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The entire mission is expected to last 53 days. Chang'e-6, which will be located on the far side of the Moon, will be connected to Earth by the Qiuqiao-2 relay satellite.

On November 24, 2020, the Changzheng-5 launch vehicle was launched from the Wenchang Cosmodrome on Hainan Island. She sent the Chang 'e-5 spacecraft to the Moon, which returned to Earth about 23 days after launch, collecting about 2 kg of lunar soil for study by Chinese specialists both for scientific purposes and for a project to prepare for the construction of a research base.