Historic mission: landing a Chinese spacecraft on the “hidden side” of the moon to retrieve samples

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The China National Space Administration announced, at dawn on Sunday, that the unmanned Chang'e-6 spacecraft had landed on the far side of the moon, on a historic mission aimed at collecting rocks and soil samples from the lunar surface.

The China National Space Administration said in a statement on its website: “At 6:23 a.m. on June 2, Beijing time, the Chang’e-6 spacecraft, supported by the tracking satellite Xueqiao-2, successfully landed in the pre-determined landing zone.” In the South Pole Basin on the Moon.

She revealed, "The Chang'e-6 mission is the first human mission to take samples from the far side of the Moon and return them. The mission involves many engineering innovations, high risks, and great difficulties."

The administration explained, "The payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 lander will operate as planned and carry out scientific exploratory missions."

This step contributes to raising China's status as a space power in a global race to the moon, as countries including the United States hope to exploit minerals on the moon's surface to support long-term astronaut missions and establish bases on the moon.