China’s Chang’e-6 Successfully Retrieves Samples from Moon’s Far Side, Marking a New Era in Space Exploration

On Friday, China announced that it had successfully retrieved 1,935.3 grams of samples from the far side of the Moon with its Chang’e-6 mission. This marked the first time that such a feat had been accomplished. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) confirmed the successful return of the samples and held a ceremony in Beijing where they were handed over to research teams.

The samples collected by Chang’e-6 were more viscous compared to previous ones, with lumps present. These included rocks and regolith, which were extracted from the Aitken crater at the Moon’s South Pole, one of the largest and oldest craters on its surface. The samples were carefully recovered after a successful landing in Inner Mongolia on June 25 and transferred to Beijing for analysis.

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated the mission’s success and emphasized China’s efforts to become a space and technological power. The next two Chang’e missions are focused on exploring the Moon’s south pole to build a scientific exploration base with Russia and other countries. The Chang’e-7 mission, scheduled for 2026, will search for water ice deposits at the lunar south pole while Chang’e-8, set for 2028, will explore potential uses of resources found there.

In addition to its plans for lunar exploration, China also announced plans to explore Mars and Jupiter in the future. With investments in its space program and establishment of its own space station, Tiangong, China is positioning itself as a key player in space exploration. If implemented as planned, Tiangong is expected to become the only operational space station by 2024 if the International Space Station is decommissioned as scheduled.

Overall, China’s successful retrieval of samples from the far side of the moon represents an important milestone in lunar exploration and positions China as a leader in this field.