China’s Chang’e moon exploration program achieved a major milestone on Sunday as a spacecraft successfully landed on the far side of the moon. This mission aimed to collect soil and rock samples from the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a large crater that has not been extensively explored compared to the near side of the moon. The China National Space Administration confirmed the successful landing at 6:23 a.m. Beijing time, marking the sixth mission in the Chang’e program. Named after a Chinese moon goddess, this mission follows the Chang’e 5, which brought back samples from the near side in 2020.
The Chang’e program is part of China’s efforts to establish itself as a major player in space exploration, challenging the dominance of the United States and other countries like Japan and India. With its own space station in orbit and regular crewed missions, China aims to achieve the milestone of landing a person on the moon before 2030, potentially becoming the second nation to do so after the United States. Meanwhile, NASA, the American space agency, is also planning to return astronauts to the moon after more than 50 years, with a target date pushed back to 2026 earlier this year.
While China celebrated the successful landing on the moon’s far side, U.S. efforts involving private-sector rockets have faced repeated delays. Technical difficulties, such as last-minute computer issues, have postponed key launches, including Boeing’s first astronaut flight. In a similar setback, a Japanese billionaire had to cancel his plan to orbit the moon due to uncertainty surrounding the development of a mega rocket by SpaceX, a private aerospace manufacturer. NASA is also relying on SpaceX’s rocket to transport its astronauts to the moon in the future, highlighting the challenges faced by public-private partnerships in space exploration.
The current Chinese mission on the far side of the moon involves using a mechanical arm and a drill on the lander to collect up to 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of surface and underground materials over a two-day period. These samples will then be transferred by an ascender to a metal vacuum container, which will be placed on another module orbiting the moon. Eventually, the container will be sent back to Earth in a reentry capsule scheduled to land in China’s Inner Mongolia region by June 25. Such missions to the moon’s far side present unique challenges, as they require a relay satellite to maintain communication and feature rugged terrain with fewer flat landing areas.
The South Pole-Aitken Basin, where the Chinese spacecraft landed, is an impact crater dating back more than 4 billion years. This crater, which is 13 kilometers deep and 2,500 kilometers in diameter, is the oldest and largest of its kind on the moon. Scientists believe that studying this basin could provide valuable insights into the moon’s early history and composition, as the impact may have ejected materials from deep below the surface. By collecting samples from this region, China’s space agency aims to expand humanity’s understanding of the moon’s geology and evolution, contributing to the broader scientific exploration of our celestial neighbor.
As China continues to make strides in its space exploration program, the successful landing on the moon’s far side represents a significant achievement for the country’s growing space capabilities. With ambitions to establish a permanent presence on the moon and eventually send human missions, China’s space agency is positioning itself as a key player in the global space race. As the United States and other countries also plan ambitious lunar missions in the coming years, the competition and collaboration in space exploration are set to intensify, ushering in a new era of scientific discovery and technological advances beyond Earth’s boundaries.
