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China’s Chang’e-6 ascent vehicle lifted off from the lunar surface with the first rock samples from the far side of the moon. It lifted off from the lunar surface early on June 4, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The vehicle’s cargo holds up to 2kg of specimens from the moon’s oldest impact basin.
“This is the first time in human history for a spacecraft to take off from the far side of the moon,” the CNSA said.
The ascender would meet and dock with the orbiter, before transferring its cargo to a return capsule. The orbiter-return capsule combination will circle the moon and wait for the best timing to fly back to Earth. It will touch down at the Siziwang Banner landing site in northern China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
Little is known about the moon’s far side, which constantly faces away from us. Scientists hope the Chang’e-6 samples can help answer questions about differences between the moon’s two faces and what the basin’s precise age says about the solar system.
