China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission returned to Earth on Tuesday with the first samples from the moon’s unexplored far side.
According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the re-entry capsule landed in Inner Mongolia, a northern Chinese area, at 2:07 p.m. local time. The mission was declared a complete success.
Chang’e-6 returned to Earth carrying soil from the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a huge crater in the lunar hemisphere that usually faces away from Earth.
The spacecraft landed on the moon on June 2, lifted off again on June 4, and spent 13 days in lunar orbit before returning to Earth.
Chang’e-6 took 53 days to complete its mission, which began on May 3 at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in Hainan, an island off China’s south coast.
The probe will be transported to Beijing, where the cabin will be opened and the sample container removed.
Chinese President Xi Jinping offered his congratulations to the CNSA for another landmark achievement for the country’s efforts to build a space power and a scientific and technological power.
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