By Eduardo Baptista and Liz Lee
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Chang’e-6 probe has lifted off from the far side of the Moon, beginning its journey back to Earth, China’s national space agency announced on Tuesday.
The successful departure of the probe from the Moon means that China is closer to becoming the first country to return samples from the far side of the Moon, which is permanently away from Earth.
The probe, which departed the Moon at 7:38 am local time (23:38 GMT), successfully completed its sample collection on June 2-3.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) said in a statement that Chang’e-6 “withstood the high-temperature test on the far side of the moon.”
Compared to its predecessor Chang’e-5, which recovered samples from the near side of the Moon, Chang’e-6 faced an additional technical challenge of operating without direct communications with ground stations on Earth, according to CNSA.
Instead, the probe relied on the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, placed into orbit in April, for communications.
The probe used a drill and robotic arm to excavate soil on and below the lunar surface, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Chang’e-6 displayed China’s national flag for the first time on the far side of the Moon after acquiring the sample, Beijing Daily reported.
The probe is now in lunar orbit and will join other spacecraft in orbit, CNSA said Tuesday morning.
The samples will then be transferred to a return module, which will fly back to Earth, with a landing in China’s Inner Mongolia region scheduled for June 25.
The return of lunar samples to Earth is being followed by scientists around the world, who hope that the soil collected by Chang’e-6 can help answer questions about the origins of the solar system.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista, Liz Lee, Ryan Woo and Shanghai Editorial Staff; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Gerry Doyle)
